MAY

This month is ideal for observing lemurs in Madagascar's deciduous forests since most of the trees begin dropping their leaves, making the tiny mammals easier to observe. Rainbow Tours' (020-7226 1004, www.rainbowtours.co.uk ) 12-day private Madagascar Made Easy tour costs from £2,495pp, including flights, accommodation with some meals, transfers and guides.

JUNE

See polar bears from the safety of a boat deck in June. North of the Arctic Circle in Svalbard, you'll also enjoy 24-hour daylight. The Ultimate Travel Company (020-7386 4646, www.theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk ) has a ten-day Spitzbergen Explorer tour, which gets to within 600 miles (1,000km) of the North Pole on board the Akademick Sergy Vavilov or the Shokalsky. The price, from £3,050pp, includes flights via Oslo, transfers and all meals.

10 classic wildlife tales

Travel news editor Ginny McGrath picks her favourite animal encounters from the Times Online wildlife archive

The lemurs of Madagascar

Richard Hammond enjoys tea with the island's exotic residents - including a real-life James Bond

• On the up in the Seychelles

Related Internet Links

• More close encounters in our Wildlife section

JULY

Stay close to home for some ornithology along the Moray Firth in Scotland. Puffin Cruises (07900 920445, www.puffincruises.com ) has a three-hour birdwatching trip to Troup Head, home to more than 4,000 gannets, the only colony on the mainland. There are also about 20,000 guillemots, 2,000 razorbills, 15,000 pairs of kittiwakes and 2,000 pairs of fulmars along with some puffins and shags. The cost is £22pp and RSPB guides accompany the trips on Tuesdays.

AUGUST

Wildebeest in East Africa follow the lushest grass and August is when they tend to enter the Masai Mara, dodging crocs as they cross the Mara River. Wildlife Worldwide (0845 1306982, www.wildlifeworldwide.com) offers a ten-day trip to track the herds, from £2,795pp, which includes flights, transfers, meals and guiding.

SEPTEMBER

Hikers in Yosemite National Park in California should still be in T-shirts in September, and warm weather means black bears won't have started hibernating. Footloose (0845 3306094, www.footloose.com ) has a 15-day Western Parks walk in Yellowstone and Yosemite, from £996pp, including camping and guiding, but not flights or a £5-a-day food kitty.

OCTOBER

Hammerhead sharks gather in large numbers in the waters around Cocos Island in the Pacific during October. It's a trek to get to, but the remoteness is part of the attraction. Expect to see silky and silver-tip sharks, too. The price for a ten-day live-aboard cruise with Dive Worldwide (0845 1306980, www.diveworldwide.com ) is from £3,118, including flights, meals and dives.

NOVEMBER

Every November millions of straw-coloured fruitbats assemble from all over central Africa to roost near the confluence of the Musola and Kasanka rivers in Zambia. It's a fantastic spectacle as the sky goes dark with the flying mammals. Expert Africa (020-8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com ) can organise a 12-day trip from £3,209pp including flights, transfers and full-board accommodation.

DECEMBER

On the Galapagos Islands, giant tortoise eggs start to hatch in December. The captive breeding programme at the Charles Darwin Research Station means that there is a good chance of seeing new arrivals. Trips Worldwide (0117-311 4400, www.tripsworldwide.co.uk) can get you there for 11 days from £3,560pp, including flights, accommodation, guides and most meals.

JANUARY

The first month of the year means long midsummer evenings and perfect weather in New Zealand - ideal for spotting sperm whales and orcas at Kaikoura, yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula and dolphins in the Bay of Islands. Turquiose Holidays (01494 678400, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk) offers a 12-night holiday from £2,785pp, including flights, accommodation, car hire and trips to see the animals in the three locations.

FEBRUARY

So many monarch butterflies appear in parts of the Mexican province of Michoacan that branches break off trees under their weight. Naturetrek (01962 733051, www.naturetrek. co.uk) has a nine-day trip from £1,995pp, including flights, full-board accommodation and guide.

MARCH

As summer draws to a close in Antarctica, humpback whales begin their migration north to warmer waters. The Drake Passage separating the continent and South America is a huge expanse, so you're not guaranteed to see whales, but on Hurtigruten's 16-day Antarctic Discovery (from £3,450pp, excluding flights, 020-8846 2666, www.hurtigruten.co.uk) you stand a decent chance.

APRIL

The heavy monsoon rains have yet to hit the Indian plains in April, making it an ideal month to look for tigers in Ranthambore national park, despite the increasing heat. Cox & King's (020-7873 5000, www.coxandkings. co.uk) new 12-day Family Explorer tour spends two nights there, which costs from £2,245 per adult and £2,095 per child, including flights, transfers, accommodation, entrance fees and guides.

All prices are based on two sharing

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