Geographical Location: Australia & Oceania

December 16, 2021

For feral cats in Australia, implant makes native wildlife their last meal

Researchers in Australia have come up with a novel way to protect native wildlife from feral cats. Scientists with the University of South Australia developed rice-sized implants that can be...

September 8, 2021

Australian duck mimics sounds—and slings insults

Not many animals are able to learn vocalizations. Parrots, hummingbirds and some songbirds can. So can whales, seals, bats and elephants. Ducks had never made that list, but researchers recently...

August 30, 2021

Cane toads aren’t just invasive—they can also be cannibals

Invasive species can wreak havoc on native ecosystems. Sometimes, they can be their own worst enemies, too. In Australia, the cane toad (Rhinella marina) was brought in to keep down...

May 4, 2021

JWM: Wombat mange outbreak limited to north Tasmania

Sarcoptic mange hit the bare-nosed wombat population of central northern Australia hard. Narawntapu National Park used to be the go-to place for tourists and wildlife watchers to get a close-up...

March 10, 2021

Australia’s wildfires had a devastating toll

A year after Australia’s devastating 2019-2020 wildlife season ended, biologists are getting a grim picture of the impact on wildlife. Scientists say more than 500 species of plants and animals...

January 6, 2021

Wild Cam: Unearthing bilbies’ benefits

Bilbies may look like rabbits, but that’s where the similarity ends. In Australia, where the marsupials are native, the government has spent enormous amounts of money to control invasive rabbits....

December 17, 2020

Deadly cancer less of a threat to Tasmanian devils

A highly contagious face cancer was expected to devastate Tasmanian devil populations, but a new analysis paints a brighter picture. Researchers have found that the deadly disease has become less...

August 5, 2020

Australia’s bushfires spell trouble for endangered species

Australia’s recent bushfires have burned habitat for native animal species, 21 of which were already listed as threatened with extinction. Scientists used government data from satellites along with on-the-ground data...

June 24, 2020

JWM: Tree plantations provide koala habitat — for now

Tree plantations could provide suitable temporary habitat for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in southwestern Australia, since the animals move around plantation-dominated landscape the same way as they would in other spaces....

May 11, 2020

Wild Cam: Wombats face grim outlook in hotter, drier climate

It’s a tale of two wombats. Down to fewer than 200 individuals, the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of...