Wildlife Archives

Wildlife

Australia’s legless geckoes

Everything that slithers is not a snake.

Wildlife

What gives golden possums their colour?

A rare genetic mutation is behind the golden colour of this possum.

Wildlife

Toad sausages are saving our quolls

Sausages made from minced toad legs have proven to be a successful way to avert quolls from eating toxic cane toads.

Wildlife

Meet the musky rat-kangaroo, our smallest kangaroo

On top of being the smallest kangaroo in existence, the musky rat-kangaroo has survived in Australian forests for more than 20 million years.

Wildlife

Everything you need to know about magpie season

Look to the skies: the season of swooping birds is upon us again.

Wildlife

The 8 most peculiar sea creatures

From the fish that live in the anuses of sea cucumbers, to the crabs that wear sponges as hats.

Wildlife

5 top birdwatching spots in the Wet Tropics

Four hundred and fifty of Australia’s 828 known species of bird can be found in the wet tropics and 12 of them — including the southern cassowary, golden-shouldered parrot and Victoria’s riflebird — are endemics found nowhere else in the world. We’ve selected five birdwatching spots within easy reach of Cairns.

Wildlife

Gallery: tiny, beautiful peacock spiders

Australia’s peacock spiders are the most attractive of the world’s more than 5000 species of jumping spider. At a tiny 4–6mm long, they stand out because of their small size, their relatively large eyes and, of course, the male’s dazzling opisthosomal fan. This is a flap on the abdomen covered in bright iridescent scales, which makes it appear similar to a butterfly wing. Here, seasoned spider photographer Jurgen Otto, who’s responsible for finding and recording many of Australia’s peacock spiders, captures their beauty.