Australia

No surprise the northern suburbs are growing at a such a rapid state. Closer to the Emerald City……;)
 
Australia’s rabbit invasion traced back to single importation of 24 animals in 1859, study finds

Population then exploded in what researchers say was ‘the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded’


The Australia-wide rabbit invasion resulted from a single introduction of just 24 animals in 1859, new research has confirmed.

Using historical and genetic data, scientists have pinpointed the origins of what they call “the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded”.

New research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has confirmed what historians have long suspected: that the country’s bunny infestation originated from Barwon Park, the estate of Thomas Austin, near Geelong in Victoria.

The European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, was originally introduced to mainland Australia on the first fleet in 1788, when five domestic rabbits were brought to Sydney.

But despite at least 90 subsequent importations, populations only exploded in the latter half of the 19th century – rabbits then spread across the entire Australian continent within 50 years, at a rate of 100km a year.
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Well there you go. From wiki.

Thomas Austin (1815 – 15 December 1871) was an English settler in Australia who is generally noted for the introduction of rabbits into Australia in 1859, even though rabbits had been brought previously to Australia by the First Fleet.
Rabbits came with the First Fleet but never bred. Amazing. Maybe they were all eaten before the fleet landed.
 
20th anniversary of the first Bali bombing coming soon.

I’ve been watching the four part series on Stan about the bombing. Very hard work and I’ve been watching it through tears. I’m into the third episode and it is brilliantly made. Some of the cast are recognisable, like Jason McCartney the AFL player who dragged a number of casualties out of the bar and let someone else take his place in the first evac flight. He came close to dying, but recovered and actually played a final AFL game.

They also showed a real news report when a bloated man was interviewed saying, in a matter of fact way, that he was burnt pretty bad. He died that night.

So if anyone can get access to this show, watch it. And have a thought for all 202 victims on October 12.
 
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lionking said:
20th anniversary of the first Bali bombing coming soon.

I’ve been watching the four part series on Stan about the bombing. Very hard work and I’ve been watching it through tears. I’m into the third episode and it is brilliantly made. Some of the cast are recognisable, like Jason McCartney the AFL player who dragged a number of casualties out of the bar and let someone else take his place in the first evac flight. He came close to dying, but recovered and actually played a final AFL game.

They also showed a real news report when a bloated man was interviewed saying, in a matter of fact way, that he was burnt pretty bad. He died that night.

So if anyone can get access to this show, watch it. And have a thought for all 202 victims on October 12.
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A girl I knew died from burns sustained in the Bali bombing. I remember crying in a taxi when I'd just found out. It was traumatic for our whole town, she was well liked.
 
Orphia Nay said:
A girl I knew died from burns sustained in the Bali bombing. I remember crying in a taxi when I'd just found out. It was traumatic for our whole town, she was well liked.
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A lot of people have stories like this. I knew one person killed at Port Arthur, but thankfully not Bali.
 
CSIRO expedition voyage to unexplored underwater mountains and sea floor around Australia's Indian Ocean Territories

I wanted to share this mostly for this quote:

This mission will use a high-tech sonar system to survey the topography of the sea floor, as well as cameras and nets researchers hope will help them discover new species.

Ms Mackenzie said the team will be exploring depths of four and five kilometres and expect there to be some interesting creatures compared to those found closer to the surface.

"Down there you've got a lot of really blobby things, and a lot of really fangy things," she said.
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Guardian emus eat locusts, kill foxes on Portland raspberry farm — and make cuddly pets

Craig Woods was once a fitter-and-turner, but eight years ago he gave it away for a life of hard yakka under the open sky, setting up a chemical-free raspberry farm where he and wife Melissa grow most of their own food and run on solar power and tank water.

He also brought home a brood of emu chicks.

After a lifelong fascination with Australia's native ratite, Mr Woods wanted to raise the emus as outdoor pets.

He had no idea that they would grow to become an integral part of the farm's ecology and beloved family members.

"Einstein [the emu] thinks I'm his dad, because I hand-raised him," Mr Woods says.

"Every morning, when I feed him, he's got to get a cuddle. He puts his head right over my shoulder and cuddles into me."
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arthwollipot said:
CSIRO expedition voyage to unexplored underwater mountains and sea floor around Australia's Indian Ocean Territories

I wanted to share this mostly for this quote:

This mission will use a high-tech sonar system to survey the topography of the sea floor, as well as cameras and nets researchers hope will help them discover new species.

Ms Mackenzie said the team will be exploring depths of four and five kilometres and expect there to be some interesting creatures compared to those found closer to the surface.

"Down there you've got a lot of really blobby things, and a lot of really fangy things," she said.
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They are certain to be blobbing and fanging. Very Australian. ;)
 
The biggest organ in the world!

Sydney's most famous landmark’s quirks and wonders revealed in ABC TV series Inside the Sydney Opera House

If you close your eyes and think "Sydney", the white-tiled sails of the Sydney Opera House are probably among the first images that spring to mind.

They have become iconic not just of the nation's most populous city but, for many, are also synonymous with Australia itself.

The World Heritage-listed building has been the site of tens of thousands of events in its near-50-year history — upwards of 38,000 have been staged in the last two decades alone.

With close to 11 million visitors to the Sydney Opera House each year, odds are you've also ventured inside its famous sails.

However, the general public has rarely been invited behind the scenes — until now.

A new, three-part ABC TV series, Inside The Sydney Opera House, takes a look at how productions are staged and the inner workings of the building, from the recently completed multimillion-dollar refurbishment to its hidden, underwater workshop.

As the site of many milestones and public controversies in the nation's history, the opera house is a treasure trove of stories, but the series lifts the curtain on some of its lesser-known facts.
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I might try to remember to check this out on iView. It's a fascinating building.
 
arthwollipot said:
Crocodile makes guest appearance in birdwatcher's photos on Darwin beach

Well, it's Darwin, so she should have expected it, really. ;)
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I lived in Darwin when I was younger. Just had a look at that shot.

REALLY??! "Killer croc" "metres away!"

Uh, no.

That's a tiddler, probably only a metre or so long, and given the telephoto size of the birds in the foreground, it is probably 30 metres or more away across a body of water. It is, to all intents and purposes, harmless to the photographer.

THIS is an adult saltie, and yes, they are dangerous.

[IMGw=500]https://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Saltwater-croc.jpg[/IMGw]
 
arthwollipot said:
‘We dubbed it Toadzilla’: giant cane toad believed to be the largest of its species found in Australia

There's photos. This thing is a monster.
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Yep. Described as being as big as a football.

When I saw the pictures, I thought: "Dang! Looks like it ATE a football."

Meanwhile, idly watching 'Dashcam Australia' videos on youtube, I noted some nice footage of a kangaroo bounding down the road.

Someone should speak to that roo, we're trying to get away from that stereotype.

:)
 
Come To Australia - You Might Accidentally Get Killed

New venomous species of snake commonly found in Central Australia discovered through genetic testing

A new venomous species of snake has been discovered after being mistaken as a different species for decades, researchers say.

The desert whip snake, also known as Demansia Cyanochasma, has been distinguished from other species via genetics research by University of Adelaide geneticist James Nankivell alongside Perth researchers Brad Maryan and Brian Bush.

SA Museum honorary researcher Mark Hutchinson said this snake was often confused with other species due to similar physical characteristics.

"It's really a successful and widespread animal, it's just that it's taken this long to be able to work out it's actually a distinct species and not the same thing as you see on the west coast or the east coast," Dr Hutchinson said.

"It's taken the addition of the genetic profiling that (Mr Nankivell) was able to do."
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