Wildlife authorities are hopeful about a new technique to identify which waterways have crocs without needing to sight them
DNA testing could be the latest tool to help park rangers track down elusive crocodiles in tropical north Queensland.
Researchers from the University of Canberra have developed a technique that can detect minute amounts of a crocodile’s mitochondrial DNA in water samples.
Continue reading...Newly recovered DNA shows the predators share little genetic ancestry with domestic dogs and are descended from ancient animals from China
Scientists have for the first time recovered DNA from the remains of dingoes between 400 and 2,700 years old to find the predator’s population was well established across the Australian continent thousands of years ago.
According to the researchers, modern dingoes share little genetic ancestry with domestic dogs introduced into Australia from Europe but are instead descended from ancient dogs and wolves from China and the Tibetan plateau. Dingoes were closely related to modern New Guinea singing dogs, the research confirmed, with both sharing a common ancestor.
Continue reading...There’s officially just one classification for ‘wild dogs/dingoes’, which lists them as pests
The Australian Capital Territory has taken steps to recognise dingoes as a distinct species in need of protection after DNA research found a population of up to 400 pure dingoes in Namadgi national park.
But farmers worry the change will hamper their efforts to protect their livestock.
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Continue reading...More plans afoot for compostable food use, says head gardener, as tournament commits to wildlife ‘net gain’ by 2030
Rain or shine – usually more of the former – Wimbledon’s stunning floral displays always manage to dazzle.
For those hoping to give their gardens an SW19-inspired transformation, the tournament’s secret has finally been revealed: coffee grounds from the staff room.
Continue reading...Federal review sparks fresh warnings that biodiversity scheme is increasing risk of animals going extinct
A review of some of the areas chosen for nature restoration as part of Australia’s biodiversity offset system has found a third are in worse condition than before, prompting fresh warnings that the scheme is increasing the risk of animals going extinct.
In one instance, the majority of a site that should have provided grey-headed flying fox and koala habitat was found to be “cleared paddock with negligible foraging value”.
Continue reading...Bilbies have the biggest genome of any marsupial, which could be down to how it evolved its incredible sense of smell
Genetic research has revealed the threatened Australian native bilby – with its ridiculously oversized ears and stretched snout – does not only look odd from the outside.
“Bilbies are weird and cool. The genome has been fascinating,” said Prof Carolyn Hogg, of the University of Sydney, who led research that sequenced the greater bilby’s genome for the first time.
Continue reading...Volunteers work to herd Atlantic white-sided dolphins found Friday in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, into deeper water
More than 100 dolphins have become stranded in the shallow waters around Cape Cod on Friday in what an animal welfare group is calling “the largest single mass stranding event” in the organization’s 25-year history.
A group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were found Friday in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, about 100 miles south-east of Boston, in an area called the Gut – or Great Island at the Herring River – which experts have said is the site of frequent strandings, due in part to its hook-like shape and extreme tidal fluctuations.
Continue reading...Swimmer off Fernandina beach was rescued by Nassau county marine unit after distress call from boat on Friday
A shark attack off Florida’s Atlantic coast left a man with a “severe bite to his right arm” on Friday, authorities say, leaving him in critical condition from blood loss.
The Nassau county sheriff’s office marine unit, which was patrolling off the coast of Fernandina beach near the Florida-Georgia border, said it had received a distress call from a boat on Friday and had applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Continue reading...RHS reports 35% surge in orders, while garden designers note pond trend at Hampton Court Palace flower show
A pond boom is happening in Britain’s gardens as people try to halt wildlife loss by digging water sources for amphibians and other aquatic life.
Data from the Royal Horticultural Society shows a marked increase in sales of pond greenery; their online store had a 35% increase in sales of pond plants for 2023 compared with 2022.
Continue reading...The movement is more than double that of east Africa’s renowned ‘great migration’ and has continued despite decades of war and instability
An extensive aerial survey in South Sudan has revealed an enormous migration of 6 million antelope – the largest migration of land mammals anywhere on Earth. It is more than double the size of the celebrated annual “great migration” between Tanzania and Kenya, which involves about 2 million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle.
“The migration in South Sudan blows any other migration we know of out the water,” said David Simpson, wildlife NGO African Parks’ park manager for Boma and Badingilo national parks, which the migration moves between and around. “The estimates indicate the vast herds of antelope species … are almost three times larger than east Africa’s great migration. The scale is truly awe-inspiring.”
Continue reading...Study identifies 16,825 sites around the world where prioritising conservation would prevent extinction of thousands of unique species
Protecting just 1.2% of the Earth’s surface for nature would be enough to prevent the extinction of the world’s most threatened species, according to a new study.
Analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Science has found that the targeted expansion of protected areas on land would be enough to prevent the loss of thousands of the mammals, birds, amphibians and plants that are closest to disappearing.
Continue reading...The actor, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was a lifeguard and professional surfer, described as a ‘legendary waterman’
Pirates of the Caribbean actor Tamayo Perry has died following a shark attack in Hawaii.
Perry, who also appeared in Blue Crush and Hawaii Five-0, was surfing at Malaekahana beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when he died on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...Missisauga officials have twice forcibly cut Wolf Ruck’s grass and billed him, after he decided to rewild his garden
Most mornings, Wolf Ruck walks the mown paths in his yard in Mississauga, Ontario, watching for insects landing on the goldenrod, birds feeding on native seed heads, and chipmunk kits playing in the tall grass.
The septuagenarian artist, film-maker and former Olympic canoeist began rewilding his garden with native plants three years ago, as part of a growing movement across Canada towards replacing water-thirsty lawns with “naturalised gardens”.
Continue reading...Narrow win for supporters after fierce farmers’ protests, loss of green seats to far right and political wrangling
The EU has passed a landmark law to protect nature after a knife-edge vote, ending a months-long deadlock among member states spooked by fierce protests from farmers.
The law, which has proven to be the most controversial pillar of the European Green Deal and nearly failed at the final hurdle, sets a target to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by the end of the decade.
Continue reading...Cocaine traffickers have put two-thirds of Central America’s key habitats for threatened birds under threat, study finds
Cocaine consumption is threatening rare tropical birds as narco-traffickers move into some of the planet’s most remote forests to evade drug crackdowns, a study has warned.
Two-thirds of key forest habitats for birds in Central America are at risk of being destroyed by “narco-driven” deforestation, according to the paper, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Continue reading...Wang Wang and Fu Ni have not conceived during more than a decade at Adelaide Zoo, sparking speculation they may be replaced
Australia’s giant pandas – having failed to breed – could be swapped for a new pair.
Chinese premier Li Qiang is expected to make an announcement about the future of the rare bears when he visits South Australia on the weekend.
Continue reading...Cubs killed by cars earlier in the day before spooked Nakoda ran on to highway, where another vehicle struck her
National park staff in Canada are mourning the “devastating” loss of a rare white grizzly bear and her cubs after all three were killed in separate vehicle collisions on the same day.
The bear formally referred to as GBF178 but named Nakoda by locals had in recent months been spotted with her two cubs foraging on spring dandelions along a stretch of highway between Lake Louise and Yoho national parks.
Continue reading...Conservationists criticise ‘disappointing’ and ‘dangerous’ move to allow harpooning of fin whales after curbs last year
Iceland has granted a licence to Europe’s last whaling company to kill more than 100 animals this year, despite hopes the practice might have been halted after concerns about cruelty led to a temporary suspension last year.
Animal rights groups described the news as “deeply disappointing” and “dangerous”.
Continue reading...Patrice Miller was found dead in her home in what authorities confirm is first known attack of its kind
A 71-year-old woman was mauled to death by a black bear in a Sierra Nevada community in 2023 in what is believed to be California’s first fatal black bear attack, the state department of fish and wildlife confirmed this week.
Patrice Miller was found dead in her Downieville home in November by a Sierra county sheriff’s deputy who was called to the residence to check on the senior after she had not been seen for several days, KCRA3 reported.
Continue reading...Up to 90% ‘lost in the blink of an eye’, say scientists studying Cyclone Ilsa’s effect on birds on Western Australian island
Increased tropical cyclones due to global heating could lead to dramatic declines in seabird populations, according to a new study.
Scientists found that after Cyclone Ilsa – a category-5 tropical cyclone – hit Bedout Island in Western Australia in April 2023, several seabird populations experienced a collapse of 80-90% due to the storm at the internationally important breeding site.
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