"I'm a real Aussie. Take it easy mate."
Showing posts with label kangaroo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kangaroo. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday, October 1, 2010
Extinct Animals Are Still With Us
Animals are going extinct, though some are still turning up. This is true. In the past 100 years many species have been declared extinct. Oddly, a third of these have been found still living. Many have not been seen for a very long time. This is the reason for them still being around.
The okapi a zebra-like animal was recently re-found in the Congo. In Cuba the solenodon "rat" was seen jumping around. Another find was the Indonesian Talaud Flying Fox. In Australia the rock rat was identified. And the Christmas Island shrew came to light.
This is embarrassing for the conservationists about to meet in Japan at the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity. It appears that emotion has won out over rationality. It is too easy to make predictions about what will happen in the future. With climate change, little real knowledge is available to researchers. Perhaps now more cautious steps will be taken.
The okapi a zebra-like animal was recently re-found in the Congo. In Cuba the solenodon "rat" was seen jumping around. Another find was the Indonesian Talaud Flying Fox. In Australia the rock rat was identified. And the Christmas Island shrew came to light.
This is embarrassing for the conservationists about to meet in Japan at the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity. It appears that emotion has won out over rationality. It is too easy to make predictions about what will happen in the future. With climate change, little real knowledge is available to researchers. Perhaps now more cautious steps will be taken.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Strange Animals Live in Australia
If you want to see weird animals go visit Australia. Most animals are spread throughout the world but Australian marsupials stay strictly at home on this "lost continent". Two hundred kinds of marsupials live only in Australia the kangaroo being the most commonly known.
When the platypus was first taken to England scientists of the day said it was a hoax, a made up animal. The koala seemed to be a cuddly bear. Unfortunately wild koalas can be very nasty and do not take kindly to being picked up. So aligned to its environment, the Tasmanian Tiger soon became extinct with the arrival of Europeans.
Besides marsupials, other creatures make life difficult for people living on this continent. Red back and funnel web spiders are dangerous. The box jellyfish also causes much pain to humans. Small animals have died from their sting. Don't let the presence of these put you off from visit this great country. Oh, I nearly forgot, the crocodile lives up north.
When the platypus was first taken to England scientists of the day said it was a hoax, a made up animal. The koala seemed to be a cuddly bear. Unfortunately wild koalas can be very nasty and do not take kindly to being picked up. So aligned to its environment, the Tasmanian Tiger soon became extinct with the arrival of Europeans.
Besides marsupials, other creatures make life difficult for people living on this continent. Red back and funnel web spiders are dangerous. The box jellyfish also causes much pain to humans. Small animals have died from their sting. Don't let the presence of these put you off from visit this great country. Oh, I nearly forgot, the crocodile lives up north.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Humans Wiped Out Australia's Megafauna
Humans destroy more things in the environment than climate change. This is especially the case in Australia where over the last 50,000 years people have wiped out the county's megafauna. Before Aboriginals arrived flightless birds, large reptiles and giant marsupials lived a carefree existence.
Humans slaughtered the large animals in a very short period of time. More accurate dating of bones shows that megafauna died out abruptly. When the giant creatures were in large numbers there is no evidence of human tools. After the Diprotodon, Australia's largest marsupial, large kangaroos and flightless birds died out stone tools appeared. Accurate dating shows they did not exist at the same time even though they were found together at certain locations. When humans became settled the large animals were gone. The odd thing is that humans and megafauna must have coexisted for at least 5,000 years. But this is a very narrow window to find evidence of both living side by side.
This gives weight to the theory that the arrival of modern Man in the Americas caused the demise of the mammoth. Though there is a problem with the American story. Megafauna "ruled" during the ice age which occurred 12,000 years ago. Its seems that when the ice ages ended life changed for the large animals. The climate was then well and truly against the survival of mammoths, short-faced bears, giant bison and sabor-toothed tigers. Some megafauna, however, continued to survive in Kansas, and Nebraska after the ice age period. The skeleton of a giant beaver has been found dating from 10,000 years ago. So Man could still be the culprit.
Humans slaughtered the large animals in a very short period of time. More accurate dating of bones shows that megafauna died out abruptly. When the giant creatures were in large numbers there is no evidence of human tools. After the Diprotodon, Australia's largest marsupial, large kangaroos and flightless birds died out stone tools appeared. Accurate dating shows they did not exist at the same time even though they were found together at certain locations. When humans became settled the large animals were gone. The odd thing is that humans and megafauna must have coexisted for at least 5,000 years. But this is a very narrow window to find evidence of both living side by side.
This gives weight to the theory that the arrival of modern Man in the Americas caused the demise of the mammoth. Though there is a problem with the American story. Megafauna "ruled" during the ice age which occurred 12,000 years ago. Its seems that when the ice ages ended life changed for the large animals. The climate was then well and truly against the survival of mammoths, short-faced bears, giant bison and sabor-toothed tigers. Some megafauna, however, continued to survive in Kansas, and Nebraska after the ice age period. The skeleton of a giant beaver has been found dating from 10,000 years ago. So Man could still be the culprit.
