Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time
It's a bird! It's a plane! Wait, no, it's a glow-in-the-dark animal?
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A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild.
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Aussie photographer Ben Alldridge submitted a photo as part of the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize. The photo was of a wild Eastern quoll, which is carnivorous marsupial that's native to Tasmania and exhibits biofluorescence.
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Using invisible ultraviolet light, Alldridge captured the mammal glowing in the dark, and his photo is considered the first photographic evidence of a quoll exhibiting biofluorescence in its natural habitat, people.com reported.
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Smithsonian Magazine reported that several mammals across the globe, many of them nocturnal, are known to exhibit this phenomenon, including polar bears, moles, zebras, wombats, armadillo and more. Non-mammals such as corals, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds also exhibit the phenomenon, although the exact biological purpose of biofluorescence is still unknown.
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'I'd say it's likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,' he said, per the Daily Mail. 'For now, we will just say they like to party.'
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Alldridge's photography will be considered as part of the ongoing research.
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'The amount of light we waste illuminating space — both physical and now literal — is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,' Alldridge said.
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Calgary Herald
7 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time
Article content It's a bird! It's a plane! Wait, no, it's a glow-in-the-dark animal? Article content A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild. Article content Article content Aussie photographer Ben Alldridge submitted a photo as part of the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize. The photo was of a wild Eastern quoll, which is carnivorous marsupial that's native to Tasmania and exhibits biofluorescence. Article content Article content Using invisible ultraviolet light, Alldridge captured the mammal glowing in the dark, and his photo is considered the first photographic evidence of a quoll exhibiting biofluorescence in its natural habitat, reported. Article content Article content Smithsonian Magazine reported that several mammals across the globe, many of them nocturnal, are known to exhibit this phenomenon, including polar bears, moles, zebras, wombats, armadillo and more. Non-mammals such as corals, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds also exhibit the phenomenon, although the exact biological purpose of biofluorescence is still unknown. Article content Article content 'I'd say it's likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,' he said, per the Daily Mail. 'For now, we will just say they like to party.' Article content Alldridge's photography will be considered as part of the ongoing research. Article content 'The amount of light we waste illuminating space — both physical and now literal — is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,' Alldridge said. Article content
Toronto Sun
20-07-2025
- Toronto Sun
Glow-in-the-dark animal captured on camera for first time
It's a bird! It's a plane! Wait, no, it's a glow-in-the-dark animal? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A photographer from Down Under has become the first person to capture a photo of a glowing marsupial in the wild. Aussie photographer Ben Alldridge submitted a photo as part of the 2025 Beaker Street Science Photography Prize. The photo was of a wild Eastern quoll, which is carnivorous marsupial that's native to Tasmania and exhibits biofluorescence. Using invisible ultraviolet light, Alldridge captured the mammal glowing in the dark, and his photo is considered the first photographic evidence of a quoll exhibiting biofluorescence in its natural habitat, reported. 'Where their fur is normally fawn or black, under certain wavelengths of light, they exhibit a process referred to as biofluorescence — like nature's version of a white shirt glowing at a disco,' Alldridge said, per the Daily Mail . This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smithsonian Magazine reported that several mammals across the globe, many of them nocturnal, are known to exhibit this phenomenon, including polar bears, moles, zebras, wombats, armadillo and more. Non-mammals such as corals, insects, spiders, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds also exhibit the phenomenon, although the exact biological purpose of biofluorescence is still unknown. Alldridge said he hopes his photos and studies into biofluorescence will help solve the mystery surrounding it. Recommended video 'I'd say it's likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,' he said, per the Daily Mail . 'For now, we will just say they like to party.' Alldridge's photography will be considered as part of the ongoing research. 'The amount of light we waste illuminating space — both physical and now literal — is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,' Alldridge said. Alldridge's photo is one of 12 finalist images to be exhibited at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from Aug. 6-31, as part of the Beaker Street Festival. Read More Toronto & GTA Editorial Cartoons Relationships Toronto & GTA World
National Observer
26-06-2025
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How tracking towers are helping save Canada's at-risk wildlife
Each year, Canadian conservationists release dozens of young Eastern loggerhead shrikes into the wild, hoping to reverse the decline of one of the country's most endangered songbirds. Once common across eastern Canada — in Ontario, Quebec and part of the Maritimes — these sharp-beaked predators are now found only in two small pockets of southern Ontario. Their steep decline since the 1990s has been linked to habitat loss, land-use changes, pesticide exposure and threats along their migration route. Despite years of captive breeding and habitat restoration, many of the birds vanish after migrating south and never return. Scientists have long been left wondering: Are the birds dying en route? Straying off course? Or facing threats on their southern US wintering grounds that Canadian efforts couldn't fix? Now, a growing network of towers — the Motus Wildlife Tracking System — may finally offer answers. 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Each tower consists of one or more antennas connected to a weatherproof box containing a radio receiver and a small onboard computer. All that's needed is a power source and internet connection. The system runs automatically — uploading data to Birds Canada's central database, where researchers across the continent can access and analyze the information. Smith said the bird tags are tiny radio transmitters, light enough to not affect the animals' movement. Each one emits a unique signal, like a bird's personal ID number, and costs around $500. Towers typically cost $6,000 to $8,000 to install, depending on materials and location. Smith said there are some bird species that are clearly in trouble. 'We've been tracking their numbers and discovering that some species have been declining — in some cases, very abruptly,' he said. 'We can use the data to see where birds were flying, how long it took them to go from station to station, whether they stopped to rest, and how many disappeared or got lost.' He described each tower as a piece of a larger puzzle. It's only by combining data from hundreds of towers across the network that researchers can begin to see the full picture. If birds don't make it to known overwintering areas like Kansas or Oklahoma — or if they arrive but don't survive — conservation efforts may need to shift focus beyond Canada's borders. Smith said Motus is already reshaping how researchers understand other at-risk birds. Whip-poor-wills, for example, were tracked flying nonstop from Ontario to Central America — showing they don't depend on rest stops. But others, like certain thrushes and warblers, do rely on stopover sites. If those areas are lost to development or deforestation, even well-managed breeding grounds won't be enough to protect them. The Niagara College towers aren't just gathering vital data — they're training the next generation of conservation scientists, Smith said. Students help with everything from installation and maintenance to data interpretation and research proposals. According to Stu Mackenzie, director of strategic assets at Birds Canada, the Motus network has expanded from just a few dozen towers in 2015 to about 300 across Canada today. With hundreds more planned in the next five years, the system has already tracked more than 450 species, including birds, bats and even butterflies. As the network grows, more schools, community groups and private companies are pitching in — hosting towers and contributing to research, he added. Birds Canada and its university partners recently secured more than $3.1 million in federal funding to support Motus' expansion across Canada and elsewhere in the hemisphere. And the need has never been greater. Since 1970, North America has lost nearly three billion birds — almost one in three. Many of the hardest-hit species are long-distance migrants like grassland birds, shorebirds and aerial insectivores. Smith says while habitat loss, climate change and pesticides are all factors, targeted conservation is nearly impossible without solid tracking data. At Niagara College, the Motus towers were made possible through a mix of funding and community support — with contributions from the RBC Foundation, the Niagara Community Foundation, the Niagara Falls Nature Club, the World Wildlife Fund and student-led fundraising efforts. As Smith sees it, every tower brings science one step closer to solving the mystery — and saving the species that depend on it.
