Flora & Fauna
Tiny moth solves decades-old pollination mystery
How a ‘weird group of boronias’ pollinate has puzzled botanists for decades. Now the mystery has finally been solved.
Category: Flora & Fauna
Flora & Fauna
Boobialla and the butterfly
It has the ring of a fairytale, but an endangered butterfly’s survival in Western Victoria isn’t the stuff of magic but rather a story of dedicated habitat restoration.
Flora & Fauna
Wild cockatoos learn to drink from water fountain
Sulphur-crested cockatoos have shown extraordinary signs of brainpower in a Sydney park, where they’ve been seen turning on water taps, and even queuing to take turns drinking.
Flora & Fauna
Chytrid fungus prompts mating surge
The rare alpine tree frog is fighting against the lethal fungus by breeding faster.
Flora & Fauna
Why do penguins porpoise?
Underwater in the freezing waters of Antarctica I watched awestruck as gentoo penguins effortlessly rocketed and swerved around me at speeds that were sometimes too fast to follow. Even more surprising was seeing the flock dash for the surface, leap clear of the water like dolphins, and hurry away.
Flora & Fauna
Fish driving cars and chimps doing maths: What teaching animals ‘irrelevant’ skills reveals about our own minds
Ecologically irrelevant research can help us understand the limits of animal intelligence and develop bio-inspired technology. It can also help us explore behavioural responses to environmental change, and advance our understanding of the evolution of intelligence.
Flora & Fauna
Why were hundreds of koalas shot en masse inside a Victorian national park?
The state government-sanctioned euthanasia sparked global attention and criticism, but experts say the root of the problem lies in the management of Victoria’s blue gum plantations.
Flora & Fauna
Man deliberately bitten by snakes helps create new antivenom
This story comes with a warning – don’t try this at home!
Flora & Fauna
Scientists capture first confirmed footage of a colossal squid
An international voyage has captured the first confirmed video of a colossal squid – a 30cm juvenile – in its natural habitat at a depth of 600m near the South Sandwich Islands.
Flora & Fauna
It’s not easy being green
As well as suffering the same range of threats facing animals worldwide, our frogs continue to battle a deadly fungal disease.