Bookings are now being taken for Mark's popular wildlife photography workshops (brand new for 2012) in Lancashire (12 and 13 May) and London (30 June and 1 July). Book early as they fill quickly - Click here for more information.

Mark went in November to photograph and film New Zealand's endangered 'small five' - kiwis, tuataras, keas, Hector's dolphins and yellow-eyed penguins. Click here to see his film. Click here, meanwhile, to see a few of his photos of animals he encountered that are found nowhere else on Earth.

Mark's new book - 'Mark Carwardine's Ultimate Wildlife Experiences' - is available to buy now direct from us. SPECIAL OFFER: signed copy for £20 plus £3 postage and packaging (published price is £25). The book officially goes on sale in shops/on Amazon in spring. Please click here for more information and how to order (limited stock for this special offer, so order now!).

We are always being asked what wildlife holidays and workshops Mark is planning to lead in the coming months/years. From the Galapagos, to the Great Bear Rainforest, Canada - and a very special adventure to the Antarctic Peninsula in January 2013 - you can see Mark's upcoming trips here.

Our three 2012 trips to Baja California are now fully booked, but we are taking bookings for 2013. This is without question the best whale-watching destination on Earth (see photo on right), and Mark is arguably the best tour leader to take you there. To see photos, meanwhile, from our 2011 trips click February 2011 and April 2011, and for general pics, click here.

Mark presented this year's Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition awards at the Natural History Museum on 19 October. After seven enjoyable years of being Chair of the judges, he has stepped down.

Check out our new section - Conservation News - which highlights issues that Mark cares deeply about. To begin with, sharks, the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, rhinos and kakapo. More to follow.

Mark's second Photo Masterclass (12 parts) offering great tips on how to improve your wildlife photography concludes in the April issue of BBC Wildlife magazine. It kicked off in the April 2011 issue . To see his first Photo Masterclass series, meanwhile, as published in 2006/7, click here.

Max, the friendly southern white rhino who featured with Mark and Stephen Fry in Last Chance to See (left) was killed on 30 June by poachers for his horn in Ol Pejeta, Kenya. He had nothing more than a stump, too, having recently been de-horned. There has been a surge in poaching across Kenya through 2011.