News
NSW threatened species list grows by almost 20
A NSW State of the Environment 2021 report, published earlier this month, has found the number of NSW species at risk of extinction now sits at 1043, with an additional 18 threatened species added in the past three years.
A further 116 ecological communities, a group of naturally occurring plants or animals living in a unique location, are also listed as threatened.
Spain to build world’s first octopus farm, prompting concerns over ethics
As a Spanish company aims to construct the first commercial octopus farm next year, spurred on by rising seafood demand, as scientists learn more about the enigmatic animals, some fear it will be an ethical and environmental disaster.
Threatened bilbies bandicoots flourish far away from cats and foxes
Set among the rolling sand dunes and green sea of growing shrubs in the arid far north-western corner of NSW lies two enclosures where bandicoots, mulgaras and bilbies roam. The mammals, that were once locally extinct in the Sturt National Park are now thriving in their feral-free zones, with researchers amazed by how quickly they have repopulated.
Arable land set aside to create habitat for endangered newts
Two large “ghost ponds” have been reclaimed from a 5ha arable field in Kent as part of a countywide project to restore habitat for great crested newts – a European protected species.