It had been considered extinct for nearly 80 years, but the Tasmanian tiger has been declared alive and kicking by an intrepid group of British naturalists. A team of investigators from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, which operates from a small farmhouse in north Devon, is currently in Tasmania hunting down clues to prove the […]
Tag: Oliver Milman
It’s official, the superb fairy-wren is our favourite bird
It’s bright blue, sexually promiscuous and just 14cm long – and it’s officially Australia’s favourite bird. The superb fairy-wren has won a national poll to identify the country’s most-loved feathered animal. BirdLife Australia said the vote, a part of Bird Week 2013, was a “very close race” for top spot between the fairy-wren and that […]
Koalas face ‘huge’ fall in numbers as climate change bites, study warns
Koalas could suffer a “huge reduction” in numbers unless Australia changes its land management practices to help mitigate the impact of climate change, a study has found. The research, led by the University of Sydney, involved the tracking of 40 koalas via GPS over three years on farmland around Gunnedah, in north-west NSW. The results […]
Tasmanian devils to be released back on to mainland
Zoos Victoria is to create a “halfway house” for endangered species in a new conservation strategy in which there will be a controlled release of Tasmanian devils on mainland Australia. A former Aboriginal reserve called Coranderrk will be used to release four of the devils, as well as 40 each of the Leadbeater’s possum and […]
Last disease-free Tasmanian devils imperiled by mine
The federal environment minister, Mark Butler, has given the go-ahead to a controversial mine that the courts halted amid concerns it could drastically affect the last stronghold of the Tasmanian devil. Butler said he had granted approval to Shree Minerals to proceed with its iron ore mine at Nelson Bay River in the north-west of […]
Migaloo the white whale spotted with friend off NSW coast
Migaloo, the famous white humpback whale, has been spotted off the NSW coast in a mass annual migration that reportedly includes a juvenile whale that shares his white hue. The whale, whose name derives from an Aboriginal word for “white fella”, has been sighted near Yamba in NSW and has now passed the Gold Coast […]
Tasmania hopes foreign zoo breeding program will help save devils
About 20 Tasmanian devils will be sent to overseas zoos in an ambitious escalation of the battle against a deadly facial tumour disease that has ravaged the marsupials. The Tasmanian government has launched a pilot project that will see up to three zoos in New Zealand and two in the US take about 20 devils […]
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 […]
