Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires. An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested […]
Tag: Queensland
‘They’re smart now’: Australian fishers are on tenterhooks over shark encounters. Should swimmers be worried?
Moreton Bay charter boat deckhand Bryce Daly is starting to feel unsafe swimming the waters he’s grown up fishing. “You’ve always got a shark in the back of your mind,” the 32-year-old Jimboomba man says. Two shark encounters last month captured national attention and rocked coastal communities along the densely populated south-east Queensland coast. In […]
Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex to avoid being eaten, study shows
Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex, paralysing their larger mates to avoid being eaten, new research has found. The blue-lined octopus is a tiny, highly dangerous cephalopod found commonly in shallow reefs and tide pools. One of the four species of blue-ringed octopus, it uses an extremely potent neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin – […]
An Australian state promised to turn native forest into a national koala park. It’s still being logged
The koala was officially declared endangered in the Australian state of New South Wales in February 2022. A year later, the Labor Party promised to create a 315,000-hectare (778,000-acre) Great Koala National Park to protect the iconic species in the state from extinction. Labor went on to win the state election that year over the […]
Toddler is savagely mauled by a dingo on K’gari in second attack in THIRD attack within days
A two-year-old has been bitten by a dingo at a popular tourist destination – the third attack within three days. The dingo bit the child on the leg at Lake McKenzie (Boorangaroo) at K’gari, formerly Fraser Island off the Queensland coast just before 1pm on Sunday. The dingo encountered the child in the car park. […]
Dingo attacks three-year-old child on Queensland island
A young child has been attacked by a dingo on K’gari island off the Queensland coast. The three-year-old was bitten on the back of the leg while walking along the beach near Kingfisher Bay on the west of the island at 5pm on Saturday. The dingo reportedly kept following the child and family even after […]
Mystery syndrome killing rainbow lorikeets and flying foxes leaves scientists baffled
Thousands of rainbow lorikeets and hundreds of flying foxes have been hospitalised in Queensland in the past year with a mysterious paralysis that can affect the animals’ ability to fly, swallow and even breathe. Lorikeet paralysis syndrome has struck birds in Queensland and New South Wales since at least 2012, and a similar syndrome was […]
Molly the Magpie and Dogs Face Uncertain Future After Court Decision
A magpie known as Molly, famous for his friendship with dogs Peggy and Ruby, may be separated from them again following a court ruling. The Supreme Court has revoked a special license allowing Molly to remain with his rescuers, Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, just months after it was granted. Molly’s story began in 2020 […]