What’s the fastest land mammal in Australia? It can outpace a human thanks to giant ‘springs’ in its legs

What’s the fastest land mammal in Australia? It can outpace a human thanks to giant ‘springs’ in its legs

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 […]

Read More

“They bore the marks of an attack, including rib fractures, internal haemorrhages and specific teeth marks.” 5 animals that kill excessively – seemingly just for fun

“They bore the marks of an attack, including rib fractures, internal haemorrhages and specific teeth marks.” 5 animals that kill excessively – seemingly just for fun

At 10am on 27 June 2018, researchers studying dolphins in a Belize mangrove, witnessed a gruesome spectacle. First, a group of four bottlenose dolphins separated a baby manatee from his mother. Then, one of them attacked the calf, biting it over and over again, and ramming it out of the water. The youngster later died […]

Read More

Petition: Australia Must Fully Fund Conservation to Stop Mammal Extinctions

Petition: Australia Must Fully Fund Conservation to Stop Mammal Extinctions

The Christmas Island shrew, the only shrew found in Australia, is now extinct. While there have been no sightings of the shrew since 1984, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has declared the long-suspected reality tragically official. Unfortunately, the shrew is only one of many mammals lost forever in Australia. Since 1788, almost […]

Read More

Cavity-Nesting Birds Use Shed Snake Skin in Nest Construction to Deter Predators

Cavity-Nesting Birds Use Shed Snake Skin in Nest Construction to Deter Predators

Many species of birds use shed snake skin in nest construction, but this behavior is poorly understood. In new research, ornithologists at Cornell University used comparative and experimental approaches to suggest that the evolution of this behavior is mediated by nest morphology and predator communities. They used a series of experiments and comparisons to test […]

Read More