Eight former Brazilian environment ministers launched a manifesto in São Paulo on 8 May in which they fiercely criticized President Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policies. In an unusual move, they condemned the administration for “a series of unprecedented actions that are destroying the capacity of the environment ministry to formulate and carry out public policies” and […]
Tag: Margarita Steinhardt
Gliders of Royal National Park
A spotlighting walk in Royal National Park turned up quite a number of Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and a tiny and extremely fast Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) – the smallest gliding mammal on earth, that is literally smaller than a mouse and seems to be constantly on the move. Unlike the ‘disappearing in a flash’ […]
Birds and frogs of Bowra Sanctuary
A sudden cold snap in Sydney this weekend provided a good reason to stay indoors and to catch up on some trip reports. In May 2012 I had the opportunity to visit AWC’s Bowra Sanctuary in southern Queensland for a few days. Bowra is an internationally known hotspot for Australia’s threatened birdlife. The 14,000 hectares […]
Beaches without people
Australia’s Top End beaches are off limits for swimming. And for a good reason. If a Saltwater crocodile won’t get you, a Box jellyfish probably will. As a result, in contrast to the rest of Australian coastline, Northern Territory beaches are often virtually empty. And what happens if you take people away from the beach? […]
Iberian lynx may not survive in the changing climate
The Iberian lynx – one of the world’s rarest wild cats may disappear from the face of the earth within the next 50 years, despite millions of dollars spent on conservation efforts. In the early 2000’s the species was already on the brink of extinction with only around 100 animals left in the wild. The […]
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 […]
Northern Territory Road trip (Part VII – Fogg Dam)
Fogg Dam is one of those places that you get excited about during the planning stage of your trip and it still ends up exceeding all of your expectations when you finally visit it. The dam was created to turn the surrounding area into rice paddies. The project that was later abandoned and now the […]
Hidden in plain sight – Frogs and other wildlife of the Watagan Mountains
Stretching along the southern end of the Great Dividing Range, between the Hunter River Catchment and the Tuggerah Lakes, WataganMountains are part of the Eastern Escarpment World Heritage area. Only an hour’s drive north of Sydney, these mountains containpatches of rainforest that trace their origins to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. Despite being made up […]