1961 comments
Two men have been charged with animal cruelty offences after they allegedly shot 30 prized horses at Killarney Station, Norhern Territory, on September 19.
Fangs for nothing!
Shocking moment a giant three-metre carpet python tries to EAT a brave woman who tried to rescue it from under her car - forcing her to call police when the snake began to squeeze the life out of her
Reptile lover's cat cornered a snake under a car in Samford Valley, near Brisbane She went to rescue the carpet python but it quickly turned on her Police had to be called to uncoil the animal which was wrapped around her leg
The woman had been working in her garage at Samford Valley, north-west of Brisbane, at 7pm when she noticed her cat had cornered the snake under a car. The self-confessed snake-lover went to rescue the wild reptile from being attacked but it quickly turned on her. She tried to pull the creature off but it soon became clear it was not keen on letting go. Footage taken by police shows the woman standing outside her garage with the snake coiled around her leg.
Environmentalists have raised the alarm over logging near the habitat of a rare frog in East Gippsland that was long thought extinct until it was rediscovered five years ago.
The large brown tree frog, which has distinctive orange markings on its hind legs, hadn’t been seen for two decades when ecologist and citizen scientist Rena Gaborov heard it call one evening in 2015 and later photographed an adult frog.
The frog was hailed as a "Lazarus species" – those rare creatures which prove the experts wrong by reappearing long after they were thought to have become extinct.
The large brown tree frog.CREDIT:MICHAEL MCFADDEN
Now Ms Gaborov and the Goongerah Environment Centre Office in East Gippsland say the state environment department has placed an inadequate buffer around the critically endangered frog’s habitat at Mt Jersey, which is near to forest coupes where logging is underway.
Because of the frog’s precarious status the environment department must place a “special protection zone” around its habitat, but GECO says this zone is sandwiched between two logging coupes and fails to meet a legal requirement that it should be at least 300 metres wide.
“Logging will push this incredibly rare and unique species to the brink of extinction,” says GECO spokesperson Chris Schuringa. “If the government continues to log these forests, then we risk losing these animals forever.”Mt Jersey was heavily affected during the summer fires and about 88 per cent of the frog’s habitat was burnt, according to the government’s biodiversity impacts report.
Ms Gaborov said little is known about the large brown tree frog, other than they often dig down into the leaf litter - she has found two this way while surveying – and they breed in response to rain.
It is likely one of their main threats is the amphibian chytrid fungus - an infectious disease that has caused extinction and population declines to many frog species worldwide. This fungus can be carried in dirt, and Ms Gaborov is concerned it might get carried into the Mt Jersey area by logging trucks.“When we’re surveying we wear plastic covers on our shoes but these logging trucks drive straight in from the central highlands with mud on their wheels,” she said.
RELATED ARTICLE
A spokesperson for the government said the Office of the Conservation Regulator had assessed the special protection zone put in place for timber harvesting, and has found that the measures are appropriate.
After the most recent bushfires there had been an assessment of the large brown tree frog's population and the creation of artificial temporary ponds for the frogs to shelter in, they said.
A spokesperson for VicForests said it had applied additional stream buffers and protection to potential frog breeding sites.In good herpetological news this week, forest surveyors from the Conservation Regulator found almost 330 giant burrowing frog tadpoles in ponds in the remote Maramingo area near Genoa, in East Gippsland.
There were concerns the frogs, which are only found in Gippsland and parts of New South Wales, were wiped out after most of their habitat was destroyed during the summer bushfires.
They are having such fun!
Incredible photographs show canines 'flying' through the air like superheroes while leaping through woodland scenes
A photographer has revealed how he tries to 'catch a dog's soul through their eyes' with his incredible action-packed shots of leaping pooches. Italian photographer Claudio Piccoli, 48, specializes in the action-packed shots and captures the animals as they leap into the air, including Peppi the puli (pictured). Scroll through to see the extraordinary images of 'flying' canines...
The photographer aims to 'capture the soul of the animals through their eyes' in the incredible photographs of the action-packed pooches, including Leep and Chester, both border collies.
Dashing through the water! Another of the images shows an extraordinary snap of Splash the Australian Shepherd joyfully running through a muddy lake.
In another of the images, the adorable Toby appears focused as he leaps into the air and over a large branch in his path while running.
You can teach old dogs new tricks! Another canine appears to fly into the air like a superhero as he jumps over an enormous branch on the path. Claudio previously snapped canine pets flying through the air like superheroes catching frisbees. He said: 'It's important to be prepared with settings on the camera and on the field so we don't waste time with dogs since usually the first performances are the best!'
Dashing through the snow! One incredible photograph shows a border collie named Fox rushing through a snowy scene with sheer delight in his piercing blue eyes. 
Tongues out! One border collie, called Peach, was captured by Claudio as he catapulted himself into the air during an energetic outing.
Another elegant bordier collie, called Jungle, almost appeared to float as he ran through the woodland path in another extraordinary pictures. 
Claudio believes the photographs can convey the joy of being outside and how it is possible to have fun just from going for a run (pictured, Jake). The photographer takes pictures all around the world in several different countries including Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, UK, Israel and Finland.
The photographer said he hoped the incredible images could show how powerful dogs can be with the right motivation, and believes his pictures capture dogs 'expressing their best'.
Wild thing! In another picture one dog, an Australian kelpie called Banjo, appeared to hover as he dashed along a dense woodland path.
Claudio revealed he often finds the first image taken of the dog while out on their run is the best, so is determined not to waste time when out on shoots. 
In another photograph, Fai, a border collie, can be seen almost levitating above its owners as it makes a dash for freedom over two people.
In order to capture the perfect photograph, Claudio believes the dogs must be perfectly positioned, while their fur must also float exactly the right spot.
Every dog is different as they rush through the woodland scenes, with no two shots the same and they are not posed for or manipulated in any way.
The photographer aims to get the most dynamic snaps of the animals as they run through the outdoor scenes, and often appear as if they're floating in the incredible pictures.
Each of the photographs is perfectly composed to capture the animal as they fly through the air, including Chester the border Collie. Claudio said: 'The photo is always born only and exclusively if the dog is in the correct position. An incorrect position completely cancels the effectiveness of the action as well as an incorrect environmental contour.'
Someone has a handyman in their household that thinks of the wildlife in their neighourhood.
Cute little Cat.
Manchester was born on September 15, 2018 and Ushakov said that he bought him at the age of 4 months.
An adorable stumpy cat called Manchester with 4-inch legs from Russia has become an Instagram star, amassing over 50,000 followers. Manchester, who is nearly two years old, is a mixture of two breeds - a Scottish straight and a Munchkin, which are renowned for their extremely short legs.
Experts (bottom right) who suspended ropes some 30 feet above ground across a damaged patch of forest 52 feet wide (left) have filmed the gibbons using the bridge for the first time. The Hainan gibbon (top right) - only found on the island of the same name in the South China Sea - is the most critically endangered primate, with a population of only 30. It lives an arboreal - or tree-based - life and experts say that it has never been seen on the ground, meaning that it needs our help to cross gaps in its habitat.
A baby sea turtle was spotted trekking across a South Carolina beach that is complete white due to teh genetic disorder leucism, Experts are concerned because it stands out to predators.
Sri Lanka Dambulla Monkey
long tailed macaque, crab-eating macaque, macaque, mauritius macaque, money, temple macaque, long tailed monkey, tree monkey, jungle, tree
[Geert Weggen, must have a lovely garden to take these photos, the squirrel must feel right at home there.]
I want to be a squirrel chip-HUNK: Rodent goes nuts for weightlifting
By RYAN FAHEY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 23:04 AEDT, 15 October 2020 | UPDATED: 23:46 AEDT, 15 October 2020
These squirrels show off their power in these hilarious photographs - in which they look like they're weight-lifting their snacks.
Geert Weggen, 52, took the pictures in a forest near his home in Bispgarden, Sweden, after cleverly creating the scene with nuts to attract the brawny red squirrels.
He said: 'I created a place outside and put up the scene with the nuts. Squirrels visit my garden every day searching for food I hide or lay out. It took me some days to capture these photos and they were taken from a three meter distance.'
Weggen said that he attached clusters of nuts to a twig and hung it in the air. Above the 'barbell', he hung some food so the creatures had to grab the twig and climb it to get to it.
Weggen said there were around six red squirrels living in the wooded area near his home. He added that he leaves food out for the creatures
Pictured: This image shows the squirrel trying to climb the twig to get the food hanging above in Bispgarden, Sweden