Emperor penguins must surely have one of the toughest existences. After watching the new David Attenborough DVD Dynasties I was again reminded of just how tough it is to survive for some animals. New research has found that there has been a 'catastrophic' failure of these amazingly resilient animals to raise chicks for three years in a row, that no chicks had survived. These penguins need the sea ice to breed and without it the new generations of Emperors won't exist. For the creatures relying on the cold and ice to survive it's a bleak future at the rate that it's all melting.

Without camera traps so much would remain unknown about the wild animals that inhabit our world. The traps provide invaluable information about animals that can help conservationists and biologists set up plans to protect the many endangered and vulnerable species that exist on the fringes of humanity struggling to survive. In Russia's far east some of the most fragile are the Amur tiger and the Amur leopard the latter critically endangered. Both of these animals were captured recently by cameras in the same place with the silhouette of Vladivostok in the background which shows how precarious their existence is so close to human civilisation where so many dangers exist. Often driven by hunger into dangerous areas too close to people they take great risks to survive and it shows that far more needs to be done to give these creatures the space they need to live as they should. 

The epic journey of a Bengal tiger into territory where Asiatic lions live is truly impressive and ultimately tragic but one of hope too. The young tiger in his prime travelled a distance of 186 miles looking for his own patch being observed by wildlife officers tracking his journey. Leaving his birthplace where 34 other Bengal tigers live he headed towards another reserve where tigers had been extinct for at least 34 years. Ultimately he died of starvation although it was at first thought he had been poached. It's sad he died but the story is also one of hope that if he made it that far other tigers may follow in his footsteps.