Australia has a reputation for being full of deadly – and often wonderfully weird – wildlife. But many of its endemic animals, such as the wombat, koala and platypus, aren’t known for their fast pace – apart from one. What’s the fastest land mammal in Australia? The fastest terrestrial mammal in Australia is the red kangaroo which can clock up a […]
Tag: Australia
Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria
Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires. An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested […]
Petition: Stop Wind Turbine Bat Deaths in Australia – A Simple Fix Can Save Thousands
Every year, tens of thousands of bats fall victim to wind turbines across Australia – but it doesn’t have to be this way. We can easily protect both the environment and these special animals, with just one simple change. Recent studies have shown that just increasing the wind speed that turbines use when they start […]
Petition: Stop the Mass Killing of Dingoes in Victoria Before It’s Too Late
The Victorian government in Australia recently made a reckless decision that puts dingoes at risk of extinction. A government order has extended the right to kill dingoes across large parts of eastern Victoria until 2028, threatening the survival of this keystone species. Sign the petition to urge the Victorian government to rescind the harmful order […]
Sniping koalas from helicopters: here’s what’s wrong with Victoria’s unprecedented cull
Snipers in helicopters have shot more than 700 koalas in the Budj Bim National Park in western Victoria in recent weeks. It’s believed to be the first time koalas have been culled in this way. The cull became public on Good Friday after local wildlife carers were reportedly tipped off. A fire burned about 20% […]
Endangered greater gliders recorded in proposed great koala national park in NSW as logging continues
Government surveys have found tens of thousands of endangered greater gliders could be living within the proposed area for a great koala national park in New South Wales, prompting new calls for the area to be quickly protected from logging. Data from aerial drone and ground-based surveys at 169 sites within the proposed park were […]
‘Lovely gentle dinosaurs’: Brisbane 2032 Olympic rowing may be held in saltwater crocodile habitat
After 82 years of a life devoted to saltwater crocodiles, John Lever still fondly recalls the first “saltie” he ever caught on Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River, about 500km north of Brisbane. The year was 1982, the crocodile was a three-metre long female and she’d just eaten “a lovely labrador dog” from a market garden in the […]
‘They’re smart now’: Australian fishers are on tenterhooks over shark encounters. Should swimmers be worried?
Moreton Bay charter boat deckhand Bryce Daly is starting to feel unsafe swimming the waters he’s grown up fishing. “You’ve always got a shark in the back of your mind,” the 32-year-old Jimboomba man says. Two shark encounters last month captured national attention and rocked coastal communities along the densely populated south-east Queensland coast. In […]