Wildlife

Sarah Herrmann. Shark sightings close to the shores of numerous South Australian beaches have prompted the SA Government to extend aerial shark patrols — but Yorke Peninsula is not included ... Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA told the YP Country Times on April 24 it was aware of community concerns about sightings across the state, including on YP.

BirdLife Australia. BirdLife Australia, in partnership with the Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Recovery Team, is calling for volunteers to join the annual count of the endangered South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo on Saturday, May 3 ... Volunteers will be assigned one of approximately 60 survey sites in the cockatoo’s range ...

Prescribed burning in the Mount Lofty Ranges to reduce bushfire risks may be threatening the survival and biodiversity of skinks and other reptiles. That’s the finding from a new University of South Australia (UniSA) study that analysed the health of more than 1750 reptiles from eight species over a two-year period.

The Darling Downs Zoo located at Pilton has been attracting attention from all over thanks to its bilby breeding program and the birth of a Capybara. Easter is of course the time for the bilby, Australia's version of the Easter Bunny, to shine.

Sarah Herrmann. Southern Yorke Peninsula residents have criticised the speed at which advice was provided to the public about the toxic microalgae bloom, which has been detected at Edithburgh and Coobowie, and caused dead marine life to wash up on numerous other SYP beaches.

The Australian alternative Easter emblem, the bilby, is iconic but at risk. Bilbies once occupied much of arid and semi-arid Australia but have disappeared from about three quarters of their historic range.

Michelle Daw. An algae toxic to marine life has been detected in water samples collected from Edithburgh and Coobowie ... The PIRSA spokesperson said the algae could cause mass deaths of marine life and particularly affect the gills of fish. "This is a dynamic situation as the bloom travels depending on weather and water conditions, and the impact therefore is unpredictable."

Dr Lachlan McCaw AFSM. Federal environmental approval recently granted for expansion of the South 32 Worsley bauxite mine has given the green light to clearing of a further 3855 hectares of native forest around Boddington south-east of Perth ... the community should question how much bauxite mining is enough, and whether closure of the native forest timber industry is simply a convenient smokescreen for increased mining in the jarrah forest.

Dead sea creatures are being discovered along the east coast of southern Yorke Peninsula, believed to be linked to a microalgal bloom ... "We saw 30 to 40 dead octopus, and normally you have to really look to see one octopus during the daytime ... It was the saddest and most emotional dive I have ever had": diver Paul Macdonald.

Lord Howe Island's native woodhen has made a remarkable recovery, with the latest survey revealing a population of at least 1,638 birds on the Island. This is a significant turnaround for the Lord Howe woodhen, which was reduced to just nine breeding pairs in the 1970s.

According to Forestry Australia’s Dr Freeman, National Parks don’t guarantee biodiversity ... The Endangered listing of koalas north of the Victorian border and the idea of a Great Koala National Park are farcical. The koala is an irruptive species. High numbers indicate an irruption, not a stable population.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department of Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) are working with local councils to respond to the fish kills in Richmond and Clarence waterways after ex-cyclone Alfred.

Requests for a list of 25 Victorian waterways, including Cairn Curran Reservoir, to be named as exempt from duck hunting have gone unanswered by the State Government as hunters in camouflage gear appeared at the popular recreation site over the weekend.

Rachel Hagan. Community consultation on the Yorke Peninsula for the Regional Shark Mitigation Project has begun, with Surf Life Saving South Australia visiting southern YP.

The NSW Government changes to the Shark Management Program include the removal of shark nets on beaches from 31 March 2025. The timing of the removal of nets to avoid the peak of turtle migration has been communicated to Surf Life Saving Clubs ... SLSNSW provides drone surveillance services at 50 sites across the NSW coastline during key times of the year.

Along Bungawalbin-Whiporie Road, spiders escaping floodwaters took to spinning their webs higher off the ground. Photographer Jimmy Malecki took some stunning photos of the webs and of two different spiders.

As extreme weather threatened our coastline, TurtleCare volunteers worked tirelessly to safeguard the future of endangered baby turtles. Wildlife Conservation Team Leader Kate Hofmeister said their quick action and commitment ensured many nests were relocated to safer areas, giving hatchlings a better chance of survival.

Reports from the public about fish gasping for air have been coming in to fish habitat charity OzFish ... The organisation has received messages and photos from locals who said thousands of fish were gasping for air, or washing up dead, following the recent cyclone and flooding.

The Labor Government’s kangaroo harvesting quotas have been significantly reduced for 2025, exacerbating the escalating overpopulation crisis in Western Victoria. Peter Riddle, a professional kangaroo harvester with 10 years of experience, was allocated just 50 tags for the first quarter of 2025 ... Bev McArthur remarked that it is “barely enough to cover one and a half nights of work.

A review of the Darling Downs 2024 Koala Population Study was recently held in Pittsworth and revealed three separate koala 'clusters' on the Downs identified through DNA testing of scat samples. A total of 91 out of 104 samples collected over an eight month period were used as part of the study.

John Williams. "Kaniva Weather" is a proverbial. And another old saying might be "Snakes alive in Kaniva" thanks to the following historic snake stories that have made the news.