Animals

Mowgli is surrounded by wolves in a 1937 illustration from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book

General History

Raised by wolves: the history of feral children

Cockfighting pit with crown surrounding a fight

General History

Feather beds, cockfights and midnight flights to the moon: 5 fascinating chapters in avian history

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Pod R and L Adkins WL

General History

Pets, pests & portents: birds through time . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A United Arab Emirates postage stamp issued in 1971 commemorating Laika, the Soviet dog who in 1957 became the first animal in orbit

Animals in space: the creatures who paved the way for human travel beyond Earth

Louis Wain, c1900, with one of his pet cats. Photo by Ernest H. Mills/Getty Images)

Louis Wain: the cat-loving artist who forever changed the way that we see our feline friends

Pod Lee Raye WL

Extinct animals of medieval Britain

Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian, by Jacob Marrel, 1679 (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

General Early Modern

Maria Sibylla Merian: the artist who challenged the natural world

Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about the history of animals in space, from fruit flies and monkeys to Laika the Soviet space dog. (Image by Getty Images)

Animals in space: from Laika to jellyfish & tortoises

Chris Pearson discusses his latest book, Dogopolis, which explores how human-canine relationships shaped New York, Paris and London. (Image by Getty Images)

How dogs shaped city life

A kelpie, from British folklore. (Image by Getty Images)

General History

Supernatural stories: 9 unusual British folktales

Kennel Special

The surprising history of Victorian dog shows

Cat got your tongue? It certainly seems to be the case with this surprised tabby

Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue’?

A lithographic Victorian trade card promoting the Forepaugh circus' new white elephant, Buffalo, New York, circa 1880. (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)

Q&A Why do we say ‘white elephant’?

Cynocephali – Dog-headed men (Photo by Getty)

Basilisks, manticores and more: medieval fantastic beasts (and where to find them)

Alexander the Great on his horse, Bucephalus

Bucephalus: why is Alexander the Great’s horse famous?