Oceania nature
Articles in ‘Oceania nature’
September 30th, 2009
Koalas are dying of stress because their habitats are being destroyed as people move in. The stress is bringing out a latent disease called chlamydia that infects 50 to 90 per cent of the animals. The
Australian Koala Foundation estimates there are fewer than 100,000 koalas left in Australia, down from the millions when European settlement began in the late 1700s. A 2008 survey of the Koala Coast by the Queensland government shows the population dropped 64 per cent, from more than 6,200 in 1999 to about 2,800. While car accidents and dog attacks killed many koalas, the report blamed about 60 per cent of the deaths on disease.
The Daily Telegraph
Australia nature, Oceania nature | Tags: Australian Koala Foundation, chlamydia, Koalas|
August 9th, 2009
Australia is planning to cull 650,000 camels in a bid to reduce the environemanal impact of these animals introduced in the 1840s.
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Australia nature, Oceania nature | Tags: Camels in Australia|
July 29th, 2009
A landmark study, published this week in
Conservation Biology, warns of the threat of mass extinction looming in across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands because of loss of habitats and invading species which are
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Australia nature, New Zealand nature, Oceania nature | Tags: extin|
July 22nd, 2009
A New Zealand winemaker thinks he has found a novel way to reduce the carbon footprint of his wine by allowing a breed of miniature sheep to graze between his vines thus cutting fuel costs and keeping grass short. The animals are known by the ridiculous name of babydoll sheep and were bred originally as pets. Only 300 exist in the world. The sheep only reach about 60cm tall when fully grown. Because the grapes tend only to start growing from about 110cm off the ground the sheep can’t reach them.
The Guardian
New Zealand nature, Oceania nature | Tags: Babydoll sheep, Carbon footprint of wine, Sheep as pets, Unsual sheep breeds, Uses of sheep, Using sheep in vineyards|
July 20th, 2009
According to Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Great Barrier Reef will be so degraded by warming waters that it will be unrecognisable within 20 years, making it the first of the world’s ecosystems to disappear.
The Times
Australia nature, Oceania nature | Tags: Charlie Veron on the Great Barrier Reef, Great Barrier Reef|
