For the receptive visitor, spectacular geological formations offer a serene grandeur that can quiet the buzzing anxieties of the human condition. Most are products of imperceptible tectonic forces such as the uplift of mountains pressing upward inch by inch, or the creeping forces of erosion, employing wind, sand, ice and …
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Placentas! It is commonly believed that marsupials, such as the kangaroos and cuddly koalas, are ‘primitive’ and ‘inferior’ when compared to placental mammals, which includes rats, cats, whales and humans. In certain regions of the world, and among certain species, this claim has …
After observing the fantastically unexpected marsupials of Australia, Charles Darwin commented: “An unbeliever…might exclaim ‘Surely two distinct Creators must have been at work.’” Australia was once part of the super-continent Gondwana–named by the 19th century Austrian geologist Eduard Suess after a district in India. Suess …
Strong archaeological and genetic evidence indicates that the Aborigines first arrived in Australia between 42,000 and 60,000 years ago. Remarkably, it appears that their ancestors were the first human wave to leave Africa and cross Asia, approximately 75,000 years ago, confirming the longest continuous pedigree outside of Africa. …
This post relates closely to my article on the Azaria Chamberlain disappearance at Ayers Rock as some background on dingoes is helpful in understanding what befell her. Additionally, they are fascinating animals, now seriously endangered due to widespread persecution and officially sanctioned extermination campaigns in their Australian homeland. Dingoes are …
