Last month Grasso wasn’t doing well. The bare-nosed wombat, dubbed Fatso in Italian, was infected with mange. The devastating skin disease caused by parasitic mites had left his skin crusted, bleeding and constantly irritated. His eyes and ears were so affected he could barely see, hear or even smell. The nocturnal animal was out grazing […]
Tag: tasmania
Man dies after stingray attack while swimming near Hobart
A 42-year-old man has died of a heart attack after apparently being stung by a stingray while swimming off the Tasmania coast, police said. Attempts to resuscitate the man, who suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday afternoon in the waters at Lauderdale beach, east of Hobart, were unsuccessful, police said. “He was removed from the […]
Tasmanian devils rapidly evolving to resist contagious cancer, study finds
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 […]
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 […]