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.
Science & Environment
Regional innovations: On the snail trail
In Western Australia’s Esperance region, an Estonian migrant is solving an age-old pest problem in farming.
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.
Fossils
Australian fossil tracks shift timeline of reptile evolution
Two lizard-like creatures crossed tracks 355 million years ago. Today, their footprints yield a major discovery.
Fossils
Unearthing quolls’ weird, snail-eating cousin
The extinct Malleodectidae family of carnivorous marsupials has become a little bit bigger with the addition of a newly described species – Malleodectes arenai – and a new genus so strange it has been named Weirdodectes.
Science & Environment
Comet, rocket, space junk or meteor? How to tell your fireballs apart
While these objects have some similarities, there are crucial differences that can help us work out what just passed over our heads.