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Conservation

Sydney Water's plans to fix creek banks will 'wipe out' platypus habitat, conservationists say

A court has ordered Sydney Water to repair eroded banks of a Penrith creek, but a possible fix has alarmed conservationists. 
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A woman holding a platypus by the tail at night

Sea sickness puts fishermen in path of rare whale shark off K'gari

The two men did not know whale sharks could be found in waters off Queensland's south-east coast until the inquisitive creature glided up next to their boat.
Whale shark swimming by back of a boat

Major conservation park home to koalas near Brisbane to grow by 213 hectares

The state government purchases a large parcel of land that will be added to the Daisy Hill Conservation Park, which features mountain bike tracks, walking paths, picnic areas, horse riding trails, and a koala centre.
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A picture of a sign that says 'Daisy Hill Conservation Park and Koala Centre' with trees and a road in the background.

Otway Basin seismic petroleum exploration proposal near whale nursery 'a slap in the face'

Geoscience technology services company CGG formally submitted its permit application and environmental plan in late January amid a month-long campaign of community protests.
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Hundreds of people form a circle around an image of a whale tale made of seaweed on the beach

The top secret fight to save the rare and ancient Wollemi pine

Only 90 Wollemi pines are left in the wild. Now Conservationists are planting hundreds more in secret locations to try to save a species which has outlived the dinosaurs.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 7 minutes 12 seconds

The top secret mission to preserve the 'botanical find of the century'

The Wollemi Pine was thought to have gone extinct two million years ago, until an off-duty ranger stumbled across a grove. Now, experts are doing everything they can to give the tree a second chance. 
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Young Wollemi Pine.

Harassed staff overseeing aerial brumby cull treated 'almost as wanted criminals' online, NSW inquiry hears

Staff based at Jindabyne have been the subject of "escalating social media campaigns", as well as a firebomb threat and the dumping of a decapitated horse head, according to evidence shared during a NSW Upper House inquiry.
three horses walking next to each other in Kosciuszko National Park

Numbats in the wild doing better than expected despite prescribed burn with dire consequences

There was once thought to be fewer than 1,000 numbats left in the wild, but a new study in southern Western Australia suggests that number is far greater.
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Two numbats next to each other.

Rare fish population removed from habitat ahead of heatwave

Scientists have moved 25 red handfish to a facility near Hobart in order to protect them from a potentially deadly marine heatwave.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 32 seconds

Judge orders logging suspension in area of Tasmania home to rare swift parrot

Environmentalist Bob Brown's foundation is challenging the legality of logging at a forestry coupe in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart.
Swift parrot perched on a tree branch.

Australian bird ecologist to join scientists on long journey to remote island (almost) left alone for 30 years

Researchers are about to travel to one of the most remote places on earth for the first time since 1991. But while humans have barely stepped foot on Ducie Island in decades, scientists are expecting to find plenty of plastic there.
An aerial shot of the island

Activists petition to ban 'cowboy permits for cowboy operators' in the Otway Basin

A permit application for the largest marine seismic survey proposal recorded is under assessment at the same time the offshore regulator is investigating the company funding the project for alleged 2020 breaches in the Otway Basin.
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A woman stands in front of the ocean holding a branch from a plant.

Drivers returning to Cable Beach after closure asked to watch for turtle hatchlings

The two-month vehicle ban on Broome's famous beach is hailed a success with no reports of turtles injured by vehicles and more than 70 nests identified.
A turtle on the beach

Mother and daughter turn a 'whale-carcass-sized' rubbish problem into a community conservation project

Michelle and Sam Crisp were appalled to find a mass of marine debris wash up on their local beach. But rather than send the waste to landfill, they transformed it into art. 
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The pair stand on the beach wearing earrings made from marine debris, and Sam wears a marine debris hat

Artificial roost offering a life raft

Environmental group hope this artificial roost will help protect critically endangered shorebird populations.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 59 seconds

How oyster shells, foam and zip ties are offering a critical life raft for declining shorebird populations

Sea rangers hope an artificial floating roost made from oyster farm "pillows" will help provide vital habitat for endangered shorebirds. 
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Two men crouch beside black foam pieces that are floating in ankle-deep water

With just two northern white rhinos left, this IVF pregnancy could save them from extinction

Scientists have carried out the first successful embryo transfer in a southern white rhino using a method that could pave the way to saving its critically endangered northern cousin from extinction.
ABC News Current

Tasmania is home to the tallest flowering plants in the world. Fire is now their biggest threat

Brett Mifsud has travelled to Tasmania for more than 30 years to find and measure the state's largest trees. He fears increasingly frequent and intense fires mean this could be the last generation of giants. 
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A man standing next to a giant tree in the forest.

Citizen scientist program to help solve mystery of mass frog kill event at lagoon

A national frog research team will look into the death of more than 200 frogs at Bool Lagoon alongside a number of other unexplained events. 
southern bell frog

Fears for East Kimberley's Gouldian finches after massive bushfires scorch habitat

Spotting an endangered Gouldian finch at Lake Argyle in the Kimberley is a treat for any bird lover, but the impact of two large bushfires, believed to have started from campfires, has worried locals and scientists.
Composite image of gouldian finch and Lake Argyle fires

Turtle rescued with rusty nail in shell thought to have been embedded with nail gun

From human-inflicted cruelty to dramatic crane rescues, this turtle rehabilitation centre has seen it all. With hatching season getting underway, rescuers are urging everyone to be on the lookout.
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Close up of a turtle's face next to a nail beside a measuring tape

Population rebound for critically endangered truffle-loving WA marsupial

Woylies play an important part in the Australian ecosystem but their numbers dwindled because of foxes and feral cats. Now, conservationists are seeing signs of a comeback.
A woylie sitting among twigs and shrubs.

There are about 50 red pandas in Australia, but none have successfully given birth in two years — until now

The new cub at Altina Wildlife Park near Wagga Wagga is the first born in Australia for two years — and with only 10,000 red pandas left worldwide, breeding programs like it are key to survival of the species.
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A red panda climbs through a wooden tube.

Set-back in efforts to save the endangered maugean skate

Half the adult maugean skate collected for a captive breeding program have died and Tasmanian scientists are desperately searching for the cause.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 4 seconds

Fears for endangered bird as rocket proposal encroaches on habitat

An environmental expert says noise and rocket launches run a "very high risk" that the endangered southern emu-wrens will "disappear" from the area.
Southern Emu Wren birds.