The brush-tailed rock-wallaby inhabits The Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia. They were hunted by European colonials to near extinction 1800-1950 for fur & skin. In 2019, wildfires destroyed 70% of their habitat. Conservation efforts protect the last remaining groups...

The long-nosed potoroo is a small marsupial native to forests of southeastern Australia. It lives alone & digs at night for fungi, roots & or small insects. It was one of the first marsupials documented by Europeans, but the clearing of 80% of its habitat for farming decimated numbers 1800s...

Life on Earth...

The gang-gang cockatoo is a parrot species in cooler & wetter forests of eastern Australia. The species is monotypic. They forage in canopies & mostly feed on the flowers & buds of eucalyptus trees. Populations have declined by 70% in the last three generations (i.e. 23 years) due to habitat loss.

Bugong National Park (est. 2001) in eastern Australia contains a vast array of flora species in a variety of wet & dry forests. The biodiversity of fauna is extensive, but the use of poison for controlling wild dogs & foxes in the region poses extreme risks to the native wildlife...

Eastern Ground Parrot in The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve of Australia.

The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve (est. 1956) in eastern Australia has distinctive, flat-topped sandstone formations created by ancient weathering of the sandstone. They were formed from horizontally-bedded sandstone, where harder mineral layers resisted erosion better than the surrounding rock.

Rockwarbler in The Blue Mountains National Park of Australia

The green catbird in subtropical forests along the eastern coast of Australia is named after its distinctive call, which sounds like a cat meowing. Though it is widespread in its favoured habitat, ongoing clearing of rainforest & paperbark swamps for development threaten their existence...

Life on Earth...

The swamp wallaby is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. It inhabits thick undergrowth in forests and woodlands. The increase in roads through swamp wallaby habitats are a threat to their survival: frequently, near the side of roads; leading to a larger number killed by vehicles.

Natural recycling...

Life on Earth...

The yellow-tailed black cockatoo of southeastern Australia relies on Banksia cones for food; a protein-rich source of seeds during winter, especially. They are frequently seen foraging on native Banksia species in coastal areas, gardens and forests...

The Pacific baza is a slender, medium-sized species of hawk of Australia & Indonesia: this vast range enhances the species ability to survive; although, its prey is impacted on by climate change, habitat loss, etc. It manipulates its voice to lure prey towards it.

Brisbane Water National Park in eastern Australia.

Brisbane Water National Park (est. 1959) has diverse vegetation across rugged sandstone, ranging from moist gullies to dry, grassy woodlands & is renowned for wildflower species. The park protects over 270 native animal species. The hydrology is dominated by rapid runoff with pristine waterfalls.

Snow gum in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia: it is summer in The Southern Hemisphere, at the moment (i.e. January).

Brindabella National Park (est. 1996) in eastern Australia protects the biodiversity of the mountain ranges. Vegetation changes with altitude via cold air drainage & soil saturation. The alpine habitats sustain a rich wildlife: wombats, wallabies, dingoes, platypus, wedge-tailed eagles & lyrebirds.

The titan arum has a heavy tuber that enables it to produce inflorescence. It is endemic to rainforests of Sumatra. Its flower blooms infrequently & only for a short period with a powerful scent of rotting flesh to attract specific pollinators. It lives for 30-40 years; blooming every 7-10 years.

The waratah is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs to small trees native to the southeastern parts of Australia. The best-known genus is Telopea speciosissima, with bright red flowers. The local indigenous people called it 'warratah' (i.e. beauty from afar), before 1700s...

The female horned marsupial frog of The Tropics of The Americas has a pouch on her lower back to nurture eggs: embryos have external gills spread out against the pouch wall; exchange takes place via wall. There is no tadpole stage: when development is complete, froglets make their way out...

A new day dawning...

Beowa National Park in Australia was renamed in 2022 due to its previous namesake's blackbirding (i.e. slaving): the George Floyd protests in the USA & the Black Lives Matter movement led to calls for the national park to be renamed were renewed. Beowa means 'orca'; myth whale of local natives.

Berowra Valley National Park (est. 2012) is in northern Sydney, Australia. In the local native language, 'Berowra' means a 'place of many winds': The Sydney Basin is windy due to its location between the ocean & The Great Dividing Range, which triggers intense sea breezes & dry mountain winds.

The azure kingfisher of Australia feeds on small fish, crustaceans (e.g. freshwater yabbies), water beetles, spiders, locusts & small frogs or tadpoles. Its habitats include banks of vegetated creeks, lakes, swamps, tidal estuaries & mangroves. It is sedentary, but some seasonal migration occurs.

The brush-tailed phascogale of Australia is an arboreal, carnivorous marsupial. Males do not live past the age of one, as they die after reproducing. As a result of habitat destruction & predation by the red fox & feral cat, they are believed to have disappeared from 50% of their former range.

The yellow-bellied glider is an arboreal & nocturnal gliding possum that lives in native eucalyptus forests in eastern Australia. Their diet consists of nectar, honeydew, insects, pollen & a variety of tree sap. Habitat loss & fragmentation are the main threats to this species...

The Blue Mountains National Park (est. 1959) is in New South Wales, Australia. The area is an uplifted plateau that began to emerge c. 50 million years ago. The range of habitats supports a rich variety of flora & fauna; including 35% of Australia's bird species, numerous mammals, reptiles & frogs.

Eastern Water Dragon in The Blue Mountains of Australia

Many of the waterfalls in The Blue Mountains of Australia have plant species reaching back to the supercontinent Gondwana: Australia separated from Gondwana in stages; breaking completely from Antarctica about 45 million years ago to drift north, creating The Southern Ocean.

Life is no simple thing on a planet 'managed' by humans...

The Border Ranges National Park (est. 1979) is a protected biome of eastern Australia, within a shield volcano group that was active 20 million years ago. Due to this, the biome has very rich biodiversity. Rapid climate change increases the frequency & severity of droughts, floods & wildfires.

Volcanic plugs can be observed across the terrestrial and marine bed surfaces of the planet: created when magma solidifies inside a volcano's vent & the softer surrounding volcanic cone erodes away over time, leaving the plug standing as a distinctive pillar or spire; very resistant to erosion.

The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is c. 3 million years old; formed when a massive volcano as high as Mount Kilimanjaro erupted & collapsed in on itself; creating the planet's largest unbroken & non-flooded caldera. Incredibly rich in biodiversity due to water sources & nutrient-rich volcanic soil.

The Kamay Botany Bay National Park (est. 1984) in Australia is where English botanist Joseph Banks collected flora specimens in 1770, as part of the first landing of HMS Endeavour: since the late-1700s, c. 100 plus species of flora have become extinct on the island continent...

Bournda National Park (est. 1947) in New South Wales, Australia, forms part of The Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area; a strip of coast (250 km) stretching along southern New South Wales. Wildlife rangers focus on preserving the habitats of endangered, native avian species.

Bournda National Park (est. 1947) in New South Wales, Australia, forms part of The Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area; a strip of coast (250 km) stretching along southern New South Wales. Wildlife rangers focus on preserving the habitats of endangered, native avian species.

The Kamay Botany Bay National Park (est. 1984) in Australia is where English botanist Joseph Banks collected flora specimens in 1770, as part of the first landing of HMS Endeavour: since the late-1700s, c. 100 plus species of flora have become extinct on the island continent...

The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is c. 3 million years old; formed when a massive volcano as high as Mount Kilimanjaro erupted & collapsed in on itself; creating the planet's largest unbroken & non-flooded caldera. Incredibly rich in biodiversity due to water sources & nutrient-rich volcanic soil.

Volcanic plugs can be observed across the terrestrial and marine bed surfaces of the planet: created when magma solidifies inside a volcano's vent & the softer surrounding volcanic cone erodes away over time, leaving the plug standing as a distinctive pillar or spire; very resistant to erosion.

The Border Ranges National Park (est. 1979) is a protected biome of eastern Australia, within a shield volcano group that was active 20 million years ago. Due to this, the biome has very rich biodiversity. Rapid climate change increases the frequency & severity of droughts, floods & wildfires.

A comb-jellyfish, or Ctenophore, was pushed up against the shore near UCSB by winds one season when all sorts of open-ocean organisms got stranded. This one has small tear near the comb-plates. Ctenophores can coordinate their swimming in ways that jellyfish cannot.