7 amazing moments of animal magic on Radio 2

We're a nation of animal lovers, so it's no surprise that the UK's most popular radio station devotes plenty of attention to the animal kingdom. Here are seven of Radio 2's greatest moments of animal magic.

Camel trainer Joseph Fossett recently featured on the Chris Evans Breakfast show, describing how much his humpy charges love to race and what kind of films they have been involved with.

He also explained, as per the lyrics in Renee Ostead's song Midnight At The Oasis, just how to "send your camel to bed."

Turns out, it's pretty simple. "Make sure they've got a really nice bed to go to," said Joseph. "They like lots of straw...food and water, and then they're quite happy to go to bed." Sounds pretty cozy to us!

If you have been inspired by Esio Trot to keep a tortoise as a pet, you need to listen to expert Jane Williams revealing how to keep them happy in your home.

"The most important thing when you get one is to know which species they are, because they do come from different parts of the world and obviously none of them come from Britain," says Jane. That way, you can try to mimic their natural habitat as closely as possible.

"Then basically what we try to do is set up an outdoor area which we call a tortoise garden, and try to enrich it and make it really interesting for them," she says. "And then on top of that you've got to find an indoor place for them as well where they can also walk around. And also, of course, heat and light, because they are cold blooded."

It's not an easy life for race horses, the elite athletes of the equine world. So to soothe their post-gallop limbs, the team at Cheltenham have devised a spa style routine to keep the horses feeling top of the world.

Chris was privileged to go and watch race horse Upswing take a few relaxing laps around the pool, which would be followed by a massage and a hot shower (before a much-deserved late breakfast.)

"I've never seen this before, this is all very exciting on the radio," said Chris. "This is incredible, what a lovely thing to see."

A starling murmuration is a phenomenon of nature and one of the most special things you can see in the UK sky.

Jamie Whyver came from the RSPB to explain what causes these common birds to flock together and whorl in beautiful patterns across the twilight sky.

"I think it's like a living version of the Northern Lights," he said. "It's amazing."

It's impossible not to find our prickly little pal the hedgehog 100 per cent adorable. So it was sad to hear, courtesy of listener Lucy (who is taking a PhD in hedgehogs), that their numbers have been declining steadily for years.

Changes to the environment and the building of roads are thought to have made it difficult for hedgehogs to sustain a safe, happy place to build a population.

If we want to help, we can try to make it easier for the little creatures to move around, for example by making holes in fences.

Cat scientist John Bradshaw gave some invaluable insight into our furry feline friends on Radio 2.

While most of us assume that cats purr when they're happy, that's not necessarily the case. "They're purring to get you to pay attention to them," said John. "Usually they are happy when they're doing it, but they're doing it for a reason as well."

When cats purr to each other, it generally means they want to settle down for a grooming session.

After learning all about them on Radio 2, spider crabs might just be our new favourite crustaceans.

They're in a group called decorator crabs, who like to mix up their look, adorning themselves with pieces of seaweed, bits of dead animal, shells and other things they find lying around.

Nature is amazing, isn't it?

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