Category: Nature
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‘It’s under the boat, it’s under the boat’: Rottnest Channel swimmer tells of moment he spotted great white shark
For Eli Ball, Saturday’s Rottnest Channel Swim was always going to be a bit out of the ordinary. The Sydney lawyer, 34, was swimming the 19.7 kilometre ocean race in butterfly rather than the traditional freestyle, and admitted he attracted a lot of “quizzical looks” from others as the race got under way. It was…
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Sydney great white shark attack victim ‘very lucky’ to be alive
A Sydney woman is “lucky” to be alive after she was bitten by a great white shark in Botany Bay. The 55-year-old swimmer survived the first confirmed shark attack in Botany Bay in 25 years, and is recovering at St George Hospital. The Hurstville local was doing breaststroke laps at Little Congwong Beach about 7pm…
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25-year study shows sea level rise is accelerating
A team of scientists has studied 25 years’ worth of satellite data, and calculated that the sea level isn’t rising at a steady rate, it’s accelerating. If the trend continues, the total sea level rise could be twice as high as previous projections by 2100. Read New Atlas Photo by go_greener_oz
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Cows blamed for closure of popular Patea swimming holes
Dairy cows have been blamed for the high E. coli levels which have forced the closure of popular Patea River swimming holes in Stratford for more than a month.
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Researchers Discover Orcas Can Imitate Human Speech
In a paper published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists report that a 16-year-old orca named Wikie was able to copy a variety of new sounds on command. The study joins a growing body of research illustrating the deep importance of social learning for killer whales. “We wanted to study vocal imitation…
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Swimming With Sharks Makes People Want To Save Them
Wildlife tourism operators like to claim their operations make people care more about endangered species. Others contend this is just preaching to the converted, without changing hearts and minds. The debate is long-running, but until now it has been largely evidence free. An initial effort has provided some good news for the tour providers and…
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Swimming with massive Whale Sharks in the Philippines
How cool is this? Watch as swimmers in Oslob, Philippines find themselves surrounded by giant Whale Sharks!
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When ice melts, polar bears use 5x more energy to swim instead of walk
Climate change and shrinking sea ice is impacting polar bear populations and their ability to forage for food and to produce healthy cubs. BYU biology professor Blaine Griffen analyzed polar bear data from the U.S. Geological Survey and calculated the metabolic rate of polar bears for different activities. He found that it takes five times…