Latest news with #AustralianConservationFoundation
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Two iconic Australian animals meet in ‘rarely documented' encounter. Take a look
In a remote part of southeastern Australia, two iconic native animals went about their daily business — until they came face-to-face. A nearby trail camera captured the 'rarely documented' encounter, exciting the witnessing ecologists. Ecologists set up a trail camera at Oxley Wild Rivers National Park in New South Wales (NSW) to monitor a colony of brush-tailed rock-wallabies. The animals are endangered and 'hard to see in the wild' because 'they live in rugged terrain along rocky outcrops, cliffs, ledges and caves,' the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said. While monitoring the video feed in early May, park staff saw a pair of rock-wallabies come face-to-face with a spotted-tailed quoll, a local predator, the department said in a June 7 Facebook post. The roughly 30-second video shows a rock-wallaby moving along an outcropping when a spotted-tailed quoll appears from the brush and starts climbing up the rocks. The animals see each other and almost seem to make eye contact. In response, the quoll bolts, running across the rock, while the rock-wallabies start 'puffing out their chests to deter the unwelcome visitor,' park officials said and the video shows. 'While a quoll has been detected in the brush-tailed rock-wallaby colony on two other occasions … the (May) sighting was the first recorded observation of brush-tailed rock-wallabies responding to a quoll's presence by posturing, where they puff up their chest and stand up tall,' a park spokesperson told McClatchy News via a June 27 email. 'While we don't know for certain if this is the same quoll as before, quolls are known to return to the same 'latrine site' — basically, their preferred poop spot,' park officials said. The spotted-tailed quoll, also known as the tiger quoll, is an endangered marsupial and the 'largest native carnivore left on the (Australia) mainland,' according to the Australian Conservation Foundation. About 14,000 spotted-tailed quolls are left in the wild, the organization said. These quolls are 'semi-regularly observed' at Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, and the May sighting confirms 'their ongoing presence within the park,' the spokesperson said. The sighting was also 'a valuable opportunity to better understand these animal's behaviour particularly because interactions between quolls and brush-tailed rock-wallabies have been rarely documented,' the spokesperson said. 'The recording highlights that there is still much to learn about the animals and plants that live in NSW.' Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is near the southeastern coast of Australia and a roughly 290-mile drive northeast from Sydney.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Murray Watt thinks he will succeed where Tanya Plibersek failed
New Environment Minister Murray Watt has raised expectations that warring conservation and mining groups will back the Albanese government's promise to reform nature protection laws, but is staring down demands for a climate trigger to control new fossil fuel projects. The Albanese government pledged in the 2022 election to strengthen environment laws, but reforms pursued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek collapsed when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to torpedo negotiations with the Greens after pushback from Western Australian miners. After his first roundtable meeting with industry groups on Thursday, Watt said there was 'broad agreement' from parties including miners, farmers, renewable energy developers, conservation groups and First Nations communities. 'Our current environmental laws aren't working and desperately need reform. Everyone accepted that this is an urgent task for the country and the parliament,' Watt said. Loading The 2020 Samuel review of Australia's environment laws found they were broken. Since colonisation, about 100 of Australia's unique flora and fauna species have been wiped out. The rate of loss, which is as bad as anywhere else on Earth, shows no sign of slowing, with ongoing habitat degradation and more than 2000 species currently listed as threatened with extinction. Before he can land reforms, Watt must bridge a divide between the mining industry and conservation lobby or face the spectre of a political campaign from whichever side is disappointed. Just as Albanese was scuttling Plibersek's reform push, the mining lobby warned Plibersek's reforms were 'bad for WA, bad for industry'. After Albanese's intervention, the Australian Conservation Foundation said the government had ' left nature in limbo after surrendering to the demands of mining and big business'. However, in a sign of his confidence, Watt said he could bring a reform bill to parliament within 18 months.
The Age
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Murray Watt thinks he will succeed where Tanya Plibersek failed
New Environment Minister Murray Watt has raised expectations that warring conservation and mining groups will back the Albanese government's promise to reform nature protection laws, but is staring down demands for a climate trigger to control new fossil fuel projects. The Albanese government pledged in the 2022 election to strengthen environment laws, but reforms pursued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek collapsed when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened to torpedo negotiations with the Greens after pushback from Western Australian miners. After his first roundtable meeting with industry groups on Thursday, Watt said there was 'broad agreement' from parties including miners, farmers, renewable energy developers, conservation groups and First Nations communities. 'Our current environmental laws aren't working and desperately need reform. Everyone accepted that this is an urgent task for the country and the parliament,' Watt said. Loading The 2020 Samuel review of Australia's environment laws found they were broken. Since colonisation, about 100 of Australia's unique flora and fauna species have been wiped out. The rate of loss, which is as bad as anywhere else on Earth, shows no sign of slowing, with ongoing habitat degradation and more than 2000 species currently listed as threatened with extinction. Before he can land reforms, Watt must bridge a divide between the mining industry and conservation lobby or face the spectre of a political campaign from whichever side is disappointed. Just as Albanese was scuttling Plibersek's reform push, the mining lobby warned Plibersek's reforms were 'bad for WA, bad for industry'. After Albanese's intervention, the Australian Conservation Foundation said the government had ' left nature in limbo after surrendering to the demands of mining and big business'. However, in a sign of his confidence, Watt said he could bring a reform bill to parliament within 18 months.
The Advertiser
19-06-2025
- General
- The Advertiser
Cows versus koalas: land clearers dobbed in as 90,000ha of bush bulldozed
Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Locals spot 'fantastic' detail as Aussies share photos of bizarre traffic light trend
As Australia's population grows, so too does the demand for essential infrastructure like roads. But this expansion often comes at the expense of natural habitats, raising concern among environmentalists. Much of our development has taken over land that was home to native wildlife for centuries, but every now and then, nature finds a way to adapt. In Newcastle this week, residents were delighted to see a couple of native birds making themselves at home in quite an unlikely spot — the pair of corellas were perched contentedly inside traffic lights. "Corellas are turning Newcastle East into some sort of red light district with their amorous goings on," a local joked online. What started as a single post quickly attracted an onslaught of replies, with other east coast residents sharing their photos of similar scenes they'd captured. From NSW to Queensland, the quirky occurrence appears to be relatively common. "There must be something extra good about the red lights," one person commented. "Nice and warm in there," said another. "They have been doing that for months now," wrote a third. Others suggested the birds simply evolved due to a lack of "hollow trees". "We need to make homes for them and hang them around the city," a woman suggested. In reality, there's a simple reason red lights might be so appealing to these birds — it is for warmth. The LED globes inside traffic signals generate heat, making them cosy nesting spots during cooler months. Combined with the enclosed casing and elevation off the ground, they provide a safe, weatherproof hideaway that mimics the natural tree hollows many birds are struggling to find in today's urban environments. Bold plan to reintroduce wild animals into Australia's major cities 'Dangerous' problem sparked by city's continuous urban sprawl Photographer surprised by cheeky corellas living inside traffic lights It's not the first time corellas, a type of cockatoo, have been spotted in their cosy makeshift cocoons, with red lights in particular the most attractive to the little birds. Back in 2023, another pair of corellas got the internet talking after they were photographed nesting in a set of traffic lights in Manly, Sydney. Peta Bulling from the Australian Conservation Foundation said it's "truly incredible" that bird species can adapt so well to urban areas. "[Another] great example of that is that is the gang-gang cockatoo. It's endangered… but you wouldn't necessarily realise if you were walking around the suburbs of Canberra because you see them relatively often and have a distinct call,' she had earlier said. "But these cockatoos really like the same sort of habitat we do. They like mature trees, and they're not disturbed by humans as much as some other animals." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
