Oct 10, 2017 · The much-photographed red-eyed tree frog lives in the rainforest canopy, coming down to breed after rain. It has been known to launch itself from a high branch after insects and land safely many meters below. Extensive webbing on its feet and its adoption of a glider-like posture in midair suggest the species may be developing the ability to control such descents.

A greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata).Image credit: shutterstock. These tiny cephalopods are grey to beige or even yellow in colour when resting, and have large light brown patches, helping them to camouflage beautifully into their rocky surrounds.

The drop bear is a native Australian marsupial related to the koala that is ferocious, savage, cunning and…. entirely fabricated. The urban legend surrounding this predatory creature centres on the idea that this territorial animal ‘drops’ from the treetops on unsuspecting bush walkers and tourists.Interestingly, the drop bear is so elusive that no one has ever captured or photographed ...

Jul 25, 2012 · A western brown snake (Pseudonaja nuchalis).Image credit: shutterstock. Said to be less aggressive than its eastern cousin, the western brown snake is still highly dangerous and part of the group of snakes that causes the most fatalities in Australia.Western browns tend to be fast moving and nervous in temperament.

Mar 16, 2011 · Larger tsunamis don’t alway cause the most destruction. Tsunamis have occurred often throughout history. So frequently in Japan, in fact, that they invented the word specifically for the phenomenon: ‘tsu‘ meaning harbour and ‘nami‘ meaning wave. “It’s actually quite frightening to think that this [Japanese tsunami] event is smaller than …

Image credit: shutterstock. The well-known call of this medium sized hawk-owl is synonymous with that of a dog’s bark— “woof woof”. The barking owl inhabits drier woodland and forest type zones, often in edge habitats nearing watercourses such as creeks.

One of Australia’s most venomous snakes, the eastern brown (Pseudonaja textilis) is an intimidating reptile that has nervous tendencies and will actively defend itself if it feels threatened.Despite the development of a successful antivenom and first aid practices, there are still between one and two deaths per year from eastern brown bites within Australia.

speeds of up to 50km per hour. Image credit: shutterstock. Hunted for food, celebrated in culture, and represented in traditional artworks and dance by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years, there is no specific, standard Indigenous word for emu, since there is …

the short-beaked echidna will roll into a spikey ball. Image credit: shutterstock. The short-beaked echidna enjoys a diet of ants and termites, using its sharp claws and strong snout to crack into mounds, nests, and tree logs, where it then slurps up its prey with its long, sticky tongue.

The 2010 eruption of Eyjaflallajokull in Iceland resulted in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II, with over 100,000 flights cancelled, costing the airline industry worldwide an estimated US$1.7 billion.