Hope, joy, absurdity and marvel: there is so much more to our world story than loss. Amid environmental tragedy, a hidden world of curiosity and wonder still exists. And in this, we can find glimmers of hope.

Land and sea both bear the scars of humanity’s rule. Today, one million plant and animal species face extinction. Wild mammals make up less than 6% of the total mammal biomass on Earth, dwarfed by humans and livestock. That is, by weight, humans and their food dominate and devour the globe. The children born today face the very real possibility of a world emptied of much of its wildlife. This is a catastrophic legacy.

The tales of human-driven wildlife extinction are of unfathomable horror: lands blackened with bodies of bygone species; birds falling from the skies, bodies slick with oil and sludge; great bears dancing raggedly in circuses; fish swollen with ingested plastics; wild apes prostituted; monkeys behind bars; insects disappearing from the skies; whales being cut, sliced, hauled and massacred off the back of ships; foxes lining coats and hats; koalas smouldering under blazing fires.

Don’t look away. Because it’s not over just yet.

Amid the tragedy, a hidden world of curiosity and wonder still exists. And in this we can find glimmers of hope.

Across the globe, an amazing orchestra of animal life is playing out in wondrous, quirky detail, revealing the resilience and spectacle of nature.

In the freshwater lakes of Mexico, newly hatched axolotls are feasting on their siblings’ limbs and revolutionising our understanding of nature’s regeneration abilities. These small salamanders, resembling eels with stumpy legs, possess the extraordinary ability to regrow lost limbs.

Across the Atlantic, female great apes in Central Africa are delighting one another with an intimate bonding ritual, rubbing their clitorises together to strengthen their friendships and maintain peace within their communities.

In the oceans, an adult humpback whale takes on the role of escort as he glides alongside a mother and her calf, protecting the vulnerable pair as they navigate the seas together for the first time.

In the air, a monarch butterfly migration paints the sky with colour and wings as millions take flight on a 4,000km journey across the Americas in one of the most impressive phenomena in the animal kingdom.

On land, the earth shudders as a thundering wildebeest migration pounds across the African plains in a spectacular blur of hooves, dirt and dust. As the 1.5 million-strong herd moves in search of fresh grazing pasture, it sets the stage for a breathtaking battle of survival, with lions, leopards, hyenas, zebras, gazelles and crocodiles joining the frenzied stampede.

There is so much more to our world story than loss.

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