Within just a handful of generations, Tasmanian devils appear to have evolved resistance to an unusual contagious cancer that was widely expected to make the ill-tempered carnivorous marsupials extinct in the wild. The remarkable finding gives hope that the unique animals could survive the disease, which has already wiped out 80% of the animals in […]
Tag: tasmania
Five dead Tasmanian devils may have been poisoned, says ranger
Investigations are under way into the discovery of five dead Tasmanian devils south of Hobart as new research shows a decline in population of the threatened species is affecting the island state’s ecosystem. The carcasses of five of the carnivorous marsupials, including a mother with two babies in her pouch, were found near the township […]
Being more colorful found to be disadvantage for female plover
A team of researchers working in Australia has found that bright coloring on female birds appears to be a reproductive disadvantage. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team describes how they tested predation of red-capped plover eggs and discovered that enhanced coloring by the parent tending the nest, made […]
Zoologists hunting Tasmanian tiger declare ‘no doubt’ species still alive
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Could the Tasmanian tiger be hiding out in New Guinea?
Many people still believe the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) survives in the wilds of Tasmania, even though the species was declared extinct over eighty years ago. Sightings and reports of the elusive carnivorous marsupial, which was the top predator on the island, pop-up almost as frequently as those of Bigfoot in North America, but to […]
