Author : Dennis King
Publisher : UNSW Press
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 13,8 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780868404561
The goanna's ubiquity and sometimes brazen behaviour has made them a familiar favourite with generations of Australian bushwalkers, campers, and picnickers. This updated editon brings together the fascintating natural history of these ancient animals and other members of the family Varanidae, which includes the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon.
Author : Gary Wood
Publisher : Australian Self Publishing Group
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 32,78 MB
Release : 2024-10-01
Category : Travel
ISBN : 1763563111
Ever since he was a young man living on the Gold Coast, Gary had dreamed of riding a motor-cycle around Australia. His focus on family, qualifications, career and mortgage conspired to push this dream out of his mind. Life had stopped being fun and he could see that it wouldn’t get better unless he changed his thinking. Then one night while lying in his hammock, sipping red wine, and listening to music, a song from his past came over the speaker. It was a message from his younger self reminding him of his dreams. He made a goal, got a motorcycle and some camping gear, and within two years he was on a solo motorcycle adventure through Queensland. This book is more than a motorcycle travel story, it’s an adventure through the heart of Queensland and the soul of Australia. Along the way, Gary learns the secret of life, loses his money by betting on chickens and solves the murder of the swaggie from the song Waltzing Matilda. His message to the reader is that it’s never too late to set and achieve goals. If he can do it anyone can, and it’s easier than you think. Just twist the throttle and look out for kangaroos.
Author : Rick Shine
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 11,13 MB
Release : 2018-03-20
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0520967984
In 1935, an Australian government agency imported 101 specimens of the Central and South American Cane Toad in an attempt to manage insects that were decimating sugar-cane harvests. In Australia the Cane Toad adapted and evolved with abandon, voraciously consuming native wildlife and killing predators with its lethal skin toxin. Today, hundreds of millions of Cane Toads have spread across the northern part of Australia and continue to move westward. The humble Cane Toad has become a national villain. Cane Toad Wars chronicles the work of intrepid scientist Rick Shine, who has been documenting the toad’s ecological impact in Australia and seeking to buffer it. Despite predictions of devastation in the wake of advancing toad hordes, the author’s research reveals a more complex and nuanced story. A firsthand account of a perplexing ecological problem and an important exploration of how we measure evolutionary change and ecological resilience, this book makes an effective case for the value of long-term natural history research in informing conservation practice.
Author : W. Ramsay Smith
Publisher : Ravenio Books
Page : 377 pages
File Size : 22,53 MB
Release : 2015-05-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN :
This classic resource is organized as follows: Chapter I: Origins The Customs and Traditions of Aboriginals The Story of the Creation The Coming of Mankind The Peewee’s Story The Eagle-hawk and the Crow The Birth of the Butterflies The Confusion of Tongues The Discovery and the Loss of the Secret of Fire The Moon The Wonderful Lizard The Lazy Goannas and what happened to them How the Selfish Goannas lost their Wives What some Aboriginal Carvings mean Chapter II: Animal Myths The Selfish Owl Why Frogs jump into the Water This is the legend of the frogs. Kinie Ger, the Native Cat The Porcupine and the Mountain Devil The Green Frog How the Tortoise got his Shell The Mischievous Crow and the Good he did Whowie The Flood and its Results How Spencer’s Gulf came into Existence Chapter III: Religion The Belief in a Great Spirit The Land of Perfection The Voice of the Great Spirit Witchcraft Chapter IV: Social Marriage Customs The Spirit of Help among the Aboriginals Ngia Ngiampe Hunting Fishing Sport Chapter V: Personal Myths Kirkin and Wyju The Love-story of the Two Sisters Cheeroonear The Keen Keeng Mr and Mrs Newal and their Dog Thardid Jimbo Palpinkalare Perindi and Harrimiah Bulpallungga Nurunderi's Wives Chirr-bookie, the Blue Crane Buthera and the Bat Yara-ma-yha-who The Origin of the Pleiades
Author : Steve Morton
Publisher : CSIRO PUBLISHING
Page : 543 pages
File Size : 50,86 MB
Release : 2022-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 1486306012
Australian Deserts: Ecology and Landscapes is about the vast sweep of the Outback, a land of expanses making up three-quarters of the continent – the heart of Australia. Steve Morton brings his extensive first-hand knowledge and experience of arid Australia to this book, explaining how Australian deserts work ecologically. This book outlines why unpredictable rainfall and paucity of soil nutrients underpin the nature of desert ecosystems, while also describing how plants and animals came to be desert dwellers through evolutionary time. It shows how plants use uncertain rainfall to provide for persistence of their populations, alongside outlines of the dominant animals of the deserts and explanations of the features that help them succeed in the face of aridity and uncertainty. Richly illustrated with the photographs of Mike Gillam, this fascinating and accessible book will enhance your understanding of the nature of arid Australia.
Author : Damian Michael
Publisher : CSIRO PUBLISHING
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 23,25 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Conservation biology
ISBN : 0643098208
This is an easy-to-use field guide to identifying the 80 reptile species currently known to occur in the Murray catchment area of New South Wales. Illustrated with high quality color photographs, the book describes the key distinguishing features of each reptile and includes details on habitats and conservation status. Uniquely, it has a detailed chapter on how to conserve reptiles and manage key habitats, providing landholders and natural resource agencies with the knowledge to help conserve reptiles in agricultural farming landscapes. The up-to-date distribution maps are based on 10 years of extensive surveys and research on reptiles in the Murray catchment. The final chapter includes a section on similar looking species to further enable readers to accurately and quickly identify difficult species. Reptiles of the NSW Murray Catchmentpromotes a broad appreciation of reptiles in the region, and is a must-have for natural history enthusiasts. Key features * A complete account of all reptile species known to occur in the Murray catchment * New information on how to identify each species, where they occur in the Murray catchment and what habitats they use * Up-to-date distribution maps for each species
Author : Martha L. Crump
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 319 pages
File Size : 30,82 MB
Release : 2024-04-15
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 1501774492
Lost Frogs and Hot Snakes reveals the thrills and travails that herpetologists experience when working with amphibians and reptiles in the wild. With essays from fifty field biologists, this volume, edited by Martha L. Crump, presents a multifaceted yet intimate look at life in pursuit of knowledge about the natural world. From the beaches of Peru to the mountains of China, the stories in this collection place readers in the boots of field biologists as they watch, count, experiment, and survey. Some recall mishaps and misadventures—contending with leeches, dangling off a precipice while in a truck. Others tell of once-in-a-lifetime encounters—discovering a new frog species, spotting a rare snake. Together, these stories offer an understanding of what field biology is, what field biologists do, and how they go about doing it. Written with candor, warmth, and a dash of humor, the stories in Lost Frogs and Hot Snakes will encourage readers to appreciate the value of engaging with nature and of the amphibians and reptiles so critical to the vitality of our planet.
Author : Marilyn Reid
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 48,33 MB
Release : 2007-07-01
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 1847536239
'Mythical Star Signs' tells the history and mythology behind your favourite star sign. It will take you on a mystical journey to the cosmos through the eyes of ancient civilisations, their gods, priests and astrologers and what input Scotland has had in this field.
Author : Erick Pianka
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 654 pages
File Size : 24,30 MB
Release : 2004-09-21
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780253343666
Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) have attracted a great deal of interest--these large and impressive lizards are often the centerpiece of reptile house exhibits. Monitors tend to be fairly wary and difficult to observe--therefore they are not particularly tractable research subjects, but they have nevertheless received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students.Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, we also identify what remains to be learned about these lizards. We hope to establish a prototype showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution. As such, this effort becomes a protocol for future workers to follow for other groups of closely-related species.
Author : Browne J.S. & Franklin Bradley
Publisher :
Page : 374 pages
File Size : 43,62 MB
Release : 2016-08
Category : Australian fiction
ISBN : 9781922134721
In the tradition of the iconic character Les Nortonhellip;Jim Dempsey is the new and hilarious Aussie hit! Working as head of security at one of Sydneyrsquo;s finest establishments has its perks and when Jim Dempseyrsquo;s millionaire boss asked him to house mind his beach bungalow on the far north coast of NSW it seemed too good to be true.In between chasing fast women, being mistaken for Prince Harry, starting a fight with the local Goanna Pulling Champion, this could potentially be his biggest earn everhellip;.Jim Dempsey proves one hell of a lot can happen in 7 dayshellip;
