30/11/2023

Archive

Water | about braided rivers

Physically similar extensive braided rivers are rare world-wide and occur only in Alaska, Canada and the Himalayas. Canterbury contains 60% of the braided- river habitat in New Zealand, and the Mackenzie Basin contains some of the most pristine of these rivers. Globally, braided rivers are rare. They occur only where a very specific combination of climate and geology allows rivers to form ever-changing and highly dynamic ‘braided’ channels across a wide gravelly riverbed. New Zealand is a braided river hot-spot....

Plant Talk | the tree fern

  Alsophila tricolor, – synonym Cyathea dealbata – commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or ‘ponga’ , is a species of medium-sized tree fern, endemic to New Zealand. The fern is usually recognisable by the silver-white colour of the under-surface of mature fronds – it has been used as a symbol by New Zealand national sports teams, in various stylised forms, since it was first worn by players in 1888. Ponga. Ponga (silver fern) grows in the...

Plant talk | Old Man’s Beard Must Go!

Invasive alien species, or IAS – are animals or plants that are introduced into places outside their natural range, hugely impacting native biodiversity, ecosystems or human well-being. They are one of the biggest causes of biodiversity loss and species extinctions, and are also a global threat to food security. Years ago, the the television botanist David Bellamy fronted a tv slot about the very invasive ‘Clematis vitalba’  – “With his impassioned enthusiasm and trademark beard, English naturalist David Bellamy made (a)...

Tasmanian Tiger the focus of ‘de-extinction’

‘The thylacine – or Tasmanian Tiger –  has long been an icon of human-caused extinction. In the 1800s and early 1900s, European colonizers in Tasmania wrongly blamed the dog-sized, tiger-striped, carnivorous marsupial for killing their sheep and chickens. The settlers slaughtered thylacines by the thousands, exchanging the animals’ skins for a government bounty. The last known thylacine spent its days pacing a zoo cage in Hobart, Tasmania, and died of neglect in 1936.’ Images by Henricus Peters – from a...

Whale stranding… what to do, what not to do

WILDLIFE hit the front page of THE PRESS today – sadly, it was because a sperm  whale stranded over the weekend at South New Brighton beach, Christchurch. A sperm whale has died after becoming stranded at a Christchurch beach overnight, according to environmental organisation Project Jonah. The whale was reported stranded just after 5pm on Saturday on South New Brighton Beach, with a volunteer medic onsite within six minutes. Do’s & Don’ts at a stranding Do Keep the animal cool...

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