No easy solution to shark crisis
A 30-year professional fisherman who grew up surfing and spearfishing says he’s too worried about the shark numbers he sees in the ocean every week to paddle out at his favourite break ... Ben Hay spoke to the Clarence Valley Independent about the explosion in shark numbers he has seen during his career, what has contributed to this population increase, and possible remedies to the current problem.
Increase mitigation or cull?
A spate of shark attacks around Australia in the first half of 2026, including four fatalities and a recent local incident has seen calls for protections on sharks to be lifted or a cull to occur. This year the attacks began on January 18, at Sydney Harbour’s Shark Beach at Vaucluse, when a 12-year-old boy was killed by a suspected Bull shark.
South Australia confirms first H5 bird flu case. New suspect detection in WA: Animal Health Australia
South Australia has recorded its first confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a vagrant migratory seabird found on a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The confirmed case - a southern giant petrel - was found by a wildlife welfare organisation on 14 June at Knights Beach, Port Elliot.
South Australia confirms first H5 bird flu case: Malinauskas, Scriven, Bourke
...South Australia has recorded its first confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a vagrant migratory seabird found on a beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The confirmed case, a Southern Giant Petrel, was found by a wildlife welfare organisation on 14 June on Knights Beach at Port Elliot in a debilitated condition and taken into care.
It’s seal-y season on the coast
It's the start of the ‘Seal-ly season' on the Central Coast, says marine mammal specialist Ronny Ling. Mr Ling, of Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast, said winter doesn't highlight only the migration north of some whales; it also triggers some seals to head up the coast as well.
Bird flu surveillance to keep ahead of the spread: Malinauskas, Scriven, Bourke
Wildlife and livestock surveillance activities are underway in South Australia following the detection of H5 bird flu in two vagrant migratory seabirds in Western Australia. Ground-based surveillance and drone surveys are being undertaken at sea lion breeding sites along the state’s west and far west coasts, as part of a coordinated response to the ongoing risk of H5 bird flu spreading to SA.
FWCA seeks clarification on how native bee climate study supports call to end forestry
Forest & Wood Communities Australia (FWCA) has written to Macquarie University researcher Dr Carmen da Silva seeking clarification regarding comments made during a recent ABC Sydney Radio interview in which she stated that Australians need to "try to stop native forest logging" in order to help protect native bees.
Bird flu mainly affects birds and some other animals
As H5 bird flu has spread around the world the wild birds most affected have included waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds and birds of prey or scavengers. H5 bird flu has also been detected in domestic pets including cats and dogs, farm animals including dairy cows and sporadically pigs, sheep and goats, marine mammals including dolphins and seals and wild animals including foxes and polar bears.
First case of H5 bird flu confirmed in Western Australia: Jarvis
The Cook Labor Government is responding to the confirmed detection ... of H5 bird flu in a single wild seabird found in the remote Cape Le Grand area, east of Esperance. Testing by CSIRO's Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness has now confirmed Australia's first case of the highly infectious bird flu in a brown skua, a subantarctic species rarely found on the WA south coast.
H5 bird flu confirmed in Australia: Collins
Testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) has confirmed H5 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) in a brown skua in Western Australia. This is the highly pathogenic strain of concern that has been circulating globally, and is the first detection in Australia.
Croc Squad snaps up new HQ on World Crocodile Day: Boothby
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has marked World Crocodile Day with the opening of a new “Croc Squad” headquarters in Palmerston for the rangers who keep the Territory’s waterways safe for locals and visitors. Parks and Wildlife rangers removed 240 crocodiles across the Territory, including 199 from designated crocodile management zones and 41 from outside those areas, between 1 July 2025 and 31 May 2026.
Take flight with local birds in Price
Caitlin Menadue. Price is celebrating its bird wildlife through an interactive display, made possible by a Grassroots Grant from Landscapes SA Northern and Yorke. Championed by the Price Progress Association and Yorke Peninsula locals, the interactive wingspan display is located near the playground and features large-scale local bird species.
A rare and remarkable visitor
NRWH. One of our most extraordinary patients this month was a spotted-tailed quoll, a species listed as threatened in NSW and endangered nationally. The quoll was first discovered by a Pimlico resident who believed they had found a wild cat trapped in their chicken coop!
Bilby baby boom brings extra cuteness to Central Australia: Boothby, Burgoyne
It’s all smiles and melted hearts as three baby bilbies emerge from their mothers’ pouches at the Alice Springs Desert Park. Under the careful watch of Alice Springs Desert Park staff and researchers, the three bilby joeys will remain with their mothers on display in the Nocturnal House, just in time for the school holidays.
Celebrating a new book honouring May Gibbs, Nutcote and wild koalas: Australian Koala Foundation
The Australian Koala Foundation is delighted to have sponsored a new enchanting book celebrating the life of May Gibbs and her love of wild koalas ... Written by Fiona Starr and created for Nutcote’s centenary, this stunning 100-page book brings together May’s own words, artwork, and rich imagery to tell the story of the place she called home.
Young Yanchep koala gets his first health check
The first koala to be born at Yanchep National Park in 15 years has passed his first full health check with flying colours. In May the Parks and Wildlife Service at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) said Djilba, who was born in February last year, weighed a healthy 4.5kg.
Genetic bottlenecks: Vic Jurskis
Another study of koalas’ genetics has been published but a key result flowing from this research was not clearly identified by the authors ... The crashes in unsustainably high numbers of koalas, consequent to the Federation Drought but attributed to shooting for pelts, didn’t cause genetic bottlenecks.
Koala numbers crashed across Australia 100,000 years ago. Global glacial cycles are likely to blame
Toby Kovacs. As my new study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows, koalas experienced a population crash about 100,000 years ago. This finding rewrites our understanding of the genetic history of koalas in Australia – and overturns previous theories about what caused their decline in ancient times.
Indigenous-led conservation confirms return of guraban (koala) across Wadbilliga National Park: Firesticks
On the far South Coast of New South Wales, Gadhu Bagan, the Southern-Yuin Firesticks team, is celebrating the persistent presence of Guraban (koala) across multiple locations in Wadbilliga National Park, following on-Country survey and monitoring work undertaken in partnership with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Eric’s a winner as Carp to Croc wraps up
The Australian Reptile Park's crocodiles and alligators were the big winners as Central Coast Council's 2026 Carp to Croc fishing event wrapped up recently. The community came together to help tackle one of Australia's most damaging invasive species.
New research finds sugar gliders, not forestry, are killing off swift parrots: Timber Towns Victoria
A peer-reviewed study concludes that predation by an introduced species is the primary driver of swift parrot decline, and that conservation strategy needs to catch up with that reality. TTV ... says a new peer-reviewed study vindicates what the forestry sector has long argued: that native forest harvesting is not the primary cause of swift parrot decline…
Feral cats eradicated from Little Dog Island: Watt, Collins, Pearce, Teesdale
A remote island off the coast of Tasmania has been declared free of feral cats after two years with no sign of the invasive species. Little Dog Island, an 83-hectare outer island of the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait, has been secured as a safe haven for wildlife including the estimated 500,000 pairs of short-tailed shearwaters that nest on the island between September and April each year.
