Did you Know….about the monotreme

There are 5 mammals that lay eggs Platypus. The sleek and adaptable platypus makes its home on land and water and is odd enough that the first scientists to learn of the mammal thought they were being pranked. … For more on this amazing creature Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna. … Western Long-Beaked Echidna. … Short-Beaked Echidna. … Sir David’s Long-Beaked Echidna. LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

This September the focus is on ….. Platypus watch

This September, Wildlife Queensland’s PlatypusWatch is partnering with the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) to promote platypus conservation. The aquatic, egg-laying platypus is one of Australia’s most bizarre and iconic mammals. Unfortunately, its habitat in Queensland has shrunk by 27 per cent over 30 years, and its numbers are declining. To counteract these threats, PlatypusWatch is a community-based program that raises awareness of platypus conservation and gathers population data from Queensland waterways so researchers can identify where actions are needed —...

The kea…. why into the mountains?

Did you Know? World’s only alpine parrot may have moved to the mountains to avoid people New Zealand’s rare, highly endangered alpine parrots may have headed for the mountains to avoid people – and researchers say their adaptability could help them survive the climate crisis. The kea is considered the only alpine parrot in the world. But scientists analysing DNA sequencing and fossil records have found kea were once present in other parts of the country. The news is something...

Good news! UK government defeated over water pollution rules

UK government defeated over plan to relax water pollution rules to boost homebuilding   LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – The British government’s plan to relax rules around water pollution to enable the construction of thousands of new homes was defeated by the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. The government said last month it planned to remove European Union “nutrient neutrality” laws it had retained post-Brexit, which are intended to ensure development does not pollute waterways with chemicals from sources...

Good news for World Heritage in Uganda

  Uganda’s Tombs of the Kings of Buganda at Kasubi to be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger The World Heritage Committee, which is meeting in Riyadh until 25 September, has decided to remove the site of the Tombs of the Buganda Kings in Kasubi (Uganda) from the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the successful restoration work carried out by Uganda with UNESCO’s support. In 2010, a violent fire devastated the Tombs of the Kings...

Great Nature books_Part 1

For International literacy day, here  are some noteworthy publishers that produce great nature books… There are myriads of great books, so these are a ‘taster list’ ….   Australia – CSIRO Publishing New Zealand – Potton & Burton  United Kingdom – Natural History Museum   Australia book Do Penguins’ Feet Freeze?  – Wild answers to wacky questions from nature  By experts of Natural History Museum, London  Published by Natural History Museum, London for northern hermisphere and CSIRO Publishing for New...

Threatened Species of Australia… sadly a long list

(photo by Henricus Peters at Lone Pine Sanctuary) On 7 September, 1936, Australia’s Tasmanian tiger – the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), slipped over the extinction line. Sixty years later, in 1996, WWF-Australia’s Threatened Species Network and the Australian Government established National Threatened Species Day to commemorate the death of the last Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo. Over  under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999, and after the catastrophic bushfires in 2019-20 with nearly 3 billion animals impacted, many of...

Happy birthday to (female) ocean champion

30 August 1935 is a special date for the oceans…. It’s the birthday of Sylvia Earle. Referred to as “Her Deepness,” National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for deepest walk on the sea floor and is a world-renowned expert on marine biology. The first woman to lead the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Earle advocates for ocean conservation and education. Sylvia Earle was born on August 30, 1935 in Gibbstown, New Jersey and lived on a small farm near Camden with her parents and two brothers. Neither of Earle’s...

World heritage important for biodiversity

New research underscores the vital role played by the World Heritage Convention in protecting biodiversity A UNESCO and IUCN assessment of the status of species reveals that UNESCO World Heritage sites harbour over 20% of mapped global species richness within just 1% of the Earth’s surface. Safeguarding these biodiversity hotspots is essential if the Kunming – Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is to be achieved. UNESCO is appealing to the 195 States Parties to the Convention to scale up investment in...

World ecology in action

  History of the establishment of IPBES At a meeting on biodiversity and ecosystem services in June 2010, States adopted the Busan outcome document which stated that “an intergovernmental science-policy platform for biodiversity and ecosystem services should be established”. By resolution 65/162 of 20 December 2010, the General Assembly “[took] note of the Busan outcome” and requested the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “to convene a plenary meeting…to determine modalities and institutional arrangements for [IPBES]”. According to the UN Office of...

Paw action! Dogs help save wildlife

For International Dog Day, a celebration about the use of 4-legged friends in conservation….. Case study #1 Department of Conservation in New Zealand Well trained dog-handler teams have successfully been used for conservation for more than 40 years. New Zealand was the first country to use dogs to benefit conservation as far back as the 1890s. Today, conservation dogs are used all over New Zealand, for example: protecting the Hauraki Gulf and other pest-free islands from introduced pests helping monitor...

Africa’s endangered wild dog

Today – 26th August – is World Painted Dog Day   Some facts What is the difference between a painted dog and a hyena? African wild dogs are commonly mistaken for hyenas, but in fact, there are many differences, both physically and behaviorally, between these two beautiful animal species. Hyenas have a larger build with spotted markings, while African wild dogs are smaller and more slender in shape, and have mottled marked fur. The wild dog is one of the...

Plant Tuesday | About the Brisbane Botanical Gardens

  Did you know?  Part of the riverside site where the gardens are located was originally a botanic reserve. It was established in 1828 to provide food for the early penal colony. The City Botanic Gardens officially opened in 1855. That year, the botanic gardens’ curator Walter Hill was appointed as the first superintendent. He began an active planting and experimenting program. This included: trialing crops and plants from around the world to determine their suitability for growing in subtropical...

Orangutans – fascinating facts about these incredible creatures

Did you know??? Here are some facts about these amazing wild animals, you might not be aware of….. The name orangutan means “man of the forest” in the Malay language. There are 3 species of orangutan….. “Bornean and Sumatran orangutans differ a little in appearance and behavior. While both have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair. Sumatran orangutans are reported to have closer social bonds than their Bornean cousins. Bornean orangutans are more likely to descend from...