Most people identify wombats and kangaroos as Australian animals, but one in six people surveyed in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria think red foxes are native wildlife. The polling commissioned by the Invasive Species Council also revealed that one in three Australians on the east coast did not know that quolls were native. More […]
Tag: foxes
Call to ban marmot hunting in France as campaigners say they are ‘killed for fun’
Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots. Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation. Although the marmot is not a […]
It’s the size of a pet cat, looks like a bandit and uses its enormous tail to flirt
Like all lemur species, ring-tailed lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, an island off the coast of East Africa. Lemurs are the world’s most endangered group of mammals; they are even the world’s most endangered group of vertebrates. The 2020 IUCN Red List update found that 98% of lemur species are Endangered, and 31% of species are […]
It barks like a dog and howls like a human – and is a silent, deadly hunter
The barking owl is a striking-looking hunter found in Australia’s woodlands. Compact, powerful and yellow-eyed, it spends the day roosting in foliage before emerging to hunt mammals, birds, reptiles and insects as the light fades. It is often heard before it is seen: alongside its dog-like bark, this owl can produce an eerie, wavering scream […]
It might be called a fox, look like a fox and act like a fox – but don’t be fooled, this is no fox
South America’s most abundant wild canid belongs to the genus Lycalopex, also known as ‘false foxes‘. Widespread and resourceful, it slips though the grasslands, scrub and farmland of the Southern Cone, feeding on whatever the season provides. Unfortunately, its appetite for livestock, including poultry and lambs, means its presence has not always been welcomed by its […]
It might look like a bit like your pet cat – but this fierce predator is a skilful swimmer who can sprint at 30mph and is anything but cuddly…
While at first glance you may think it resembles a domestic cat, a bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a much bigger and and more fierce hunter. It’s a medium-sized species of lynx, whose name comes from is short tail, which looks cut or ‘bobbed’. It roams the deserts and forests of Canada, the United States and […]
It looks like a wolf, acts like a wolf – but don’t be fooled this is no wolf…
Unlike the hapless Wile E. Coyote of Looney Tunes fame, the real-life version is an intelligent and highly successful animal. Once associated with North America’s prairies and deserts, the coyote now turns up almost everywhere, even city streets, thanks to its remarkable ability to thrive alongside people. Its appetite for rubbish and even pets can provoke a […]
Eighteen wolves found dead in Italian national park in suspected poisoning
The carcasses of 18 wolves have been found in an Italian national park within the space of a week in an apparent series of poisonings described by conservationists as the most serious crimes against wildlife in Italy in a decade. Authorities of the national park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise said eight wolves were found dead in […]