An Australian bushman and naturalist claims to have captured video footage of the night parrot, a bird not seen alive for more than a century. John Young, who describes himself as a wildlife detective, showed the footage and a number of still photos of the bird to a packed room of enthusiasts and media at […]
Tag: Australia
Whale carcass may be towed out to sea to save pod
Marine experts are contemplating towing the carcass of a killer whale out to sea to encourage members of its pod to move into deeper waters off Queensland’s coast. Up to eight whales remain near Fraser Island where two whales, a mother and her calf, died after becoming stranded on Wednesday morning. Rescuers fear the pod […]
Tribunal halts kangaroo cull
The lives of nearly 1,500 kangaroos that roam the open spaces of Canberra have been spared after a tribunal sided with animal rights campaigners to halt a planned mass cull of the marsupials. The ACT civil and administrative tribunal ruling on Wednesday night provides a temporary reprieve for the eastern grey kangaroo population, pending a […]
Scientist: Australia taking ‘calculated actions’ to push Leadbeater’s possum to extinction
Australia’s leading scientific expert on the endangered Leadbeater’s possum has publicly lambasted the Victorian state government, claiming it is the first ever domestic administration to take “calculated actions” that it knew could wipe out a threatened species. In a letter published in the respected journal Science, Prof David Lindenmayer, of the Australian National University, states […]
Giant, hot-pink slugs found in Australia
Australia is home to some of the world’s most unique wildlife, from flightless birds capable of disemboweling a man to giant glow-in-dark earthworms. Now a new creature can be added to that list: large, bright pink slugs. The existence of 8-inch fluorescent pink slugs on Mount Kaputar, a 5,000-foot peak in New South Wales, has […]
Frogs and other critters of Smiths lake
After being M.I.A. from the Frogs and Tadpoles Study-group (FATS) for precisely 10 years I rejoined the ranks of amphibian aficionados for a 4-day weekend trip to Smiths Lake on the north coast. 10 years ago I visited the lake during a torrential downpour in an attempt to find the elusive Green-eyed tree fog (Litoria […]
Turning up the temperature might save frogs’ lives
Over the past 30 years, amphibians worldwide have been infected with a lethal skin disease known as the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). “The disease can cause rapid mortality, with infected frogs of susceptible species dying within weeks of infection in the laboratory.” Jodi Rowley, a herpetologist with the Australian Museum told mongabay.com. “This disease […]
Could the Tasmanian tiger be hiding out in New Guinea?
Many people still believe the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) survives in the wilds of Tasmania, even though the species was declared extinct over eighty years ago. Sightings and reports of the elusive carnivorous marsupial, which was the top predator on the island, pop-up almost as frequently as those of Bigfoot in North America, but to […]