Category Archives: Marsupials
QUOLLS
How can you resist an animal called a quoll? The quoll – a carnivorous marsupial – is about the size of a cat, but even cuter (if possible). Here’s one: As you’ll have noticed, this quoll is spotted – hence … Continue reading
Filed under Marsupials, Uncategorized
DEVILS IN DANGER
October 2007 The Tasmanian Devil suffers from a horrible viral cancer which is killing off the population. Conservationists are trying to take measures to save them. Faculty of Life Sciences trivia quiz: which member of staff has a scar from a Tasmanian Devil bite? … Continue reading
Filed under Diseases, Manchester, Marsupials, Quiz
THE ALBINO KOALA THAT WASN’T (OR WAS IT?)
October 2007 Matt Kaiser (Postgrad) pointed this out: The albino koala that appeared in an earlier Z-Letter item is a fraud. Or at least, it’s not an albino, according to a video from The Guardian [that has since been removed for copyright … Continue reading
Filed under Marsupials
ALBINO KOALA
September 2007 BBC video here. Aaah. But more seriously, albinoism occurs regularly in (to my knowledge) all mammals. Is it the same gene that is mutated each time? Why do albinos have visual problems? (NB see other posts on albinism – they update … Continue reading
Filed under Baby animals, Marsupials, Videos
MORE ON THE DEVIL
February 2007 Last year ago, the Z-letter carried an item about the nasty virus which is threatening the Tasmanian Devil. A conference has taken place in Tasmania to pool ideas about how to fight the disease. BBC report here, Nature article on the … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Diseases, Marsupials
DO DINGOS GOOD?
November 2006 A new study suggests that the decline in Australian marsupials may have been partly caused by the decline in the numbers of the top predator – the dingo. BBC summary article here; original article here (open access).
Filed under Ecology (scientific), Extinction, Mammals, Marsupials
