Mammals of Australia

Scientists in Australia have just begun an ambitious public health campaign, but not for humans. As part of a new field trial, koalas in the wild are being temporarily captured and then vaccinated against chlamydia, which can be dangerous and even life-threatening for them. The hope is that the vaccine can help reverse the population decline of these now-endangered marsupials.James Gunn on Feeling Pressure to Add Adam Warlock to Guardians of the Galaxy | io9 InterviewChlamydia is named after the several species of…

A white-bellied pangolin rescued in Uganda last year.Photo: Photo by ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images)Mammals have a pretty basic blueprint. Among other things, we give birth to live young, we’re warm-blooded, and, perhaps most obviously, we all have hair. (Yes, even dolphins.) But in the churn of natural selection, some mammals ended up with appendages that look like they should be found on a reptile, bird, or insect. That’s convergent evolution for you: Why should reptiles be the only ones to enjoy the…

A platypus at the Taronga Zoo in Australia.Photo: Mark Metcalfe (Getty Images)Eight-six years ago today, the last known thylacine died in a zoo in Hobart, Tasmania. To commemorate the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, as it’s commonly known, September 7 is now National Threatened Species Day in Australia, a day to celebrate Australia’s remarkable wildlife and consider how best to conserve it.And there is an abundance of Australian fauna that needs conserving. From the striped numbat and the long-eared bilby to the…