Australia

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Creature Feature | Kangaroo

  * Photo by Henricus Peters at Lone Pine Sanctuary  Here are some facts you might not know about kangaroo… Kangaroo joeys are the size of a jellybean * Photo by Henricus Peters at Lone Pine Sanctuary  They can’t move backwards. “Kangaroos can not walk backward. Kangaroos hopping motion is called Saltation. They hop off their feet and use their tail to balance. That combined with muscular legs make it easy for them to move forward effectively but those appendages...

Learn From Nature | Conservation News Review – December 18

  A snapshot of the last week in the environmental field * Christmas is now but a week away – read more about “Christmas Animals” Australia – giant wombats roamed the continent – https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/12/giant-wombats-roamed-the-continent-and-now-we-have-a-complete-description-of-its-melon/ New Zealand – Forest & Bird, New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, is preparing to celebrate 100 years  United Kingdom – BBC Wildlife Mag is 60 years old! The magazine was instrumental in highlighting wildlife photography  Global news – Conference of Parties on biodiversity was held in...

Creature feature | Strange animals – Australian platypus

The  “platypus” is indeed a weird, strange creature but / and … it IS real…. But when Europeans first encountered the odd-looking platypus, it became the centre of scientific debate: was it real or just an elaborate hoax? The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) has a puzzling array of features. Not only does it have that iconic duck bill, it lays eggs like a bird or reptile but feeds milk to its young like a mammal. Males also have a pair of venomous...

Survey | Frogs of Australia

FrogID Week is Australia’s Biggest Frog Count, held annually for Australians to help record frog calls through the free FrogID app, as a measurement of frog health and distribution around the nation. It aims to monitor frog distributions over time, helping us to understand how frogs and their ecosystems are responding to a changing planet. From croaks and barks, to whistles and bleats, every frog species makes a unique sound. Using the free FrogID app, you can record the frogs...

Blood Moon – Best times to watch in New Zealand

Further to my post – https://learnfromnaturetoday.com/blood-moon-unique-lunar-event The best times to see this unique astronomy event in New Zealand according to https://www.1news.co.nz  are: “The full eclipse will begin at 11.16pm, when the red hue will be most visible, before reaching maximum eclipse at midnight. The period of total eclipse will last for 1 hour and 25 minutes, before reaching its maximum peak at 11.59pm. “  ...

Blood Moon – unique lunar event – November 8th

The next and final lunar eclipse of 2022 will occur TONIGHT November 8 and will be visible in parts of Asia, Australia, North America, parts of northern and eastern Europe, and most of South America. The first total lunar eclipse of 2022 occurred on May 15-16 and was visible in total phase from portions of the Americas, Antarctica, Europe, Africa and the East Pacific. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth is positioned between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow...

Flooding in Australia – what’s the cause?

Floods have made headlines ( again ) this past week across Australia news media…. Flood warnings in place in Australia’s eastern states, with predictions the wet weather could persist until the middle of next week   So why does it flood in Australia? “The oceans north of Australia are warmer and that causes more moisture flowing from the Indian ocean to eastern parts of Australia,” ( Agus Santoso, senior researcher at the University of New South Wales Climate Research Centre...

Easter bunny? Instead, let’s Save the Bilby!

Easter features a number of animals – see my previous post  This year the Bilby has taken over from the more traditional Easter bunny – with money raised going to the wonderful work of Save the Bilby Fund  Information about the Bilby : “There is more to ‘why save bilbies’ than the fact that they look amazing, they have adorable ears and beautiful silky soft fur. Firstly, bilby ancestors have been found as fossilised remains dating back 15 million years...

The flooding caused a HUGE impact on Australian wildlife

‘The sad reality is many don’t survive’: how floods affect wildlife…. For over two decades, bull sharks have called a Brisbane golf course home after, it’s believed, a flood washed them into the course’s lake in 1996. Now, after severe floods connected their landlocked home back to the river system, these sharks have gone missing, perhaps attempting to seek larger water bodies. This bizarre tale is one of many accounts illustrating how Australia’s wildlife respond to flooding. But the sad...

World Engineering Day

In New Zealand… Engineering New Zealand Wonder Project nightlights STEM The Wonder Project is Engineering New Zealand’s initiative to get the next generation excited about a career in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It’s about sparking wonder in STEM from a young age, building confidence, and having all young Kiwis believing they can achieve remarkable things. In Australia… Engineers Australia is set to celebrate the UNESCO designated World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) on Friday 4 March. The...

Rabbit plague and how to handle

Rabbits are an enormous problem for Australian ecosystems – they’re a major threat to 322 species of plants and animals already at risk of extinction. This is more than double the number of species threatened by cats and foxes. The Conversation investigation To keep rabbit numbers down, many land managers roll out rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus, a powerful biocontrol. Land managers play a crucial role in conserving the environment and managing pest species – their involvement is essential to the...

“Just add water” – Lake Eyre, Australia, is back

Water Giver of new life Lake Eyre begins filling with water – much to delight of tourists, businesses   Few rivers in the world remain as untamed and free-flowing as those that run through the ancient landscape of the Lake Eyre Basin. Recent generous rainfall over Australia’s inland Channel Country is breathing new life into ecosystems and it’s getting graziers and businesses excited for a big year ahead. Red dirt country has transformed into lush green expanses, cobbled with patterns...