A team from Royal Holloway College is in a position to use state-of-the-art technology to recreate a creature that became extinct more than 70 years ago. RUSSELL BUTT discovers more
Scientists in Egham have made a Jurrasic Park-style breakthrough that could potentially bring the Tasmanian tiger back to life - more than 70 years after it went extinct.
In a story echoing the plot of the blockbuster dinosaur movie, researchers at Royal Holloway University of London, have revealed the complete 'mitochondrial genome sequence' for the thylacine, a marsupial commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, which died out in 1936.
Read more here.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Mystery Cat a Dog?
AS cats go, Scott Burnett says at least one of the Gympie Region's big cats looks like a bit of a dog.
Dr Burnett's analysis, which he freely describes as less than 100 per cent certain, was made possible by Glenwood resident Colin Russow, who responded scientifically when he noticed unusually large animal prints of indeterminate origin at his property.
Read more here.
Dr Burnett's analysis, which he freely describes as less than 100 per cent certain, was made possible by Glenwood resident Colin Russow, who responded scientifically when he noticed unusually large animal prints of indeterminate origin at his property.
Read more here.
Trail of Panther Leads to Kenthurst
MYSTERIOUS panther-like creatures, long reported to be stalking the outskirts of Sydney, could be moving towards homes.
With at least 19 sightings reported this year, big cat hunters believe they're becoming bolder as they search for food and mates.
Read more here.
With at least 19 sightings reported this year, big cat hunters believe they're becoming bolder as they search for food and mates.
Read more here.
Skeptics Tackle Qld Cat
Reports of a panther-like cat roaming bushland in south-east Queensland have been met with scepticism by a Sunshine Coast academic.
Glenwood resident Colin Rossow claims to have found footprints of "big cats" on his property north of Gympie.
Mr Rossow has plaster casts of the paw prints, which he believes are from two different cats.
Read more here.
Glenwood resident Colin Rossow claims to have found footprints of "big cats" on his property north of Gympie.
Mr Rossow has plaster casts of the paw prints, which he believes are from two different cats.
Read more here.
Glenwood Panther Revives Mystery
THERE'S nothing quite like a mystery animal sighting to divert attention from life's less-happy realities such as the global economic crisis.
So this week's reports of a big cat prowling the rural suburb of Glenwood, north of Gympie, have not only given some light relief on the news front, they have also reignited the age-old debate over the existence of mythical and mysterious creatures in Queensland.
Read more here.
So this week's reports of a big cat prowling the rural suburb of Glenwood, north of Gympie, have not only given some light relief on the news front, they have also reignited the age-old debate over the existence of mythical and mysterious creatures in Queensland.
Read more here.
Tale of the Dead Tiger
Scientists face a mammoth task in bringing back extinct species, such as Tasmanian tigers or sabre-tooths, writes Richard Macey.
Out on the grasslands, a woolly rhinoceros grazes. Over a fence, a sabre-toothed cat stands, watching. Elsewhere, a dodo nests on the ground, while nearby a Tasmanian tiger paces through a eucalypt forest.
Beyond the enclosures, crowds of curious visitors, including ginger-haired Neanderthals, gaze in fascination.
However, unlike in Jurassic Park's cinematic wildlife reserve, there is not a dinosaur in sight.
"There's no chance of bringing back the dinosaurs but other extinct beasts could rise again," the journal New Scientist declared last week, naming its 10 top candidates for resurrection through the rapidly advancing technologies of genetics and cloning.
Read more here.
Out on the grasslands, a woolly rhinoceros grazes. Over a fence, a sabre-toothed cat stands, watching. Elsewhere, a dodo nests on the ground, while nearby a Tasmanian tiger paces through a eucalypt forest.
Beyond the enclosures, crowds of curious visitors, including ginger-haired Neanderthals, gaze in fascination.
However, unlike in Jurassic Park's cinematic wildlife reserve, there is not a dinosaur in sight.
"There's no chance of bringing back the dinosaurs but other extinct beasts could rise again," the journal New Scientist declared last week, naming its 10 top candidates for resurrection through the rapidly advancing technologies of genetics and cloning.
Read more here.
Extinction in the Tasmanian Tiger's Genes?
Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines, had dangerously low genetic diversity decades before disease and human hunting drove them extinct, an analysis of the first complete mitochondrial genomes from the extinct marsupials reveals.
An international group of scientists used powerful new technology to decode mitochondrial and some nuclear DNA from two thylacine museum specimens. The researchers report their findings online January 13 in Genome Research.
Read more here
An international group of scientists used powerful new technology to decode mitochondrial and some nuclear DNA from two thylacine museum specimens. The researchers report their findings online January 13 in Genome Research.
Read more here
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Yowie at Singleton property?
http://singleton.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/yes-its-a-yowie/1283858.aspx
Yes, it’s a yowie
Singleton Argus
26/09/2008 1:59:00 PM
WHILE the majority of scientists do not acknowledge their existence, a leading cryptozoologist believes a Glendonbrook property was recently visited by a yowie.
After receiving some photographs taken by Glendonbrook resident Lloyd Stapleton of some strange footprints found on his property, cryptozoologist (person who studies animals whose existence is disputed) and environmental scientist, Professor Gary Opit, said the shape and size of the footprints had the hallmarks of a yowie.
“From my viewing of the photos, the footprints were made by a large bipedal (two legged) animal, and in my opinion, more than likely a yowie,” Professor Opit said.
“It appears as if the yowie has leapt over Mr Stapleton’s gates and landed quite heavily on the balls of its right foot, not flat footed, and this left a deep impression.
“There is another print of its left foot and then it appears to have walked onto the grass.”
The photos were sent to Professor Opit after a number of zoos and museums were unable to identify the footprints.
The yowie, the Australian version of the yeti / big foot, has been dismissed by most scientists as a myth because of a lack of physical evidence.
Professor Opit believes that yowies are a descendant from the genus Australopithecus, which were closely related to humans, stand around two metres tall, and are highly intelligent, ambush predators, eating mainly kangaroos, possums and bandicoots.
He believes that yowies were once in abundant numbers in Australia, but were hunted into near extinction by Aborigines and dingoes.
However, with no hunting threats for quite some time, their numbers have begun to grow, which has resulted in increased sightings by people.
“Most people don’t believe they exist for one second but I’m fortunate that I’ve actually seen one and heard their calls,” Professor Opit said.
“And so many people have contacted me with reports, I can’t say they are all hoaxes.”
While initially disbelieving of the fact he had a yowie visiting him, Mr Stapleton said a number of strange occurrences, other than the footprints, led him to suspect that there was something out of the ordinary getting around on his property.
“A few years ago, I heard a growling near the tree line when I was doing some work on my shed at night,” he said.
“I’d never heard anything like it before, it was too big a volume in noise to be a dog.
“It frightened the daylights out of my two German Shepherds who were with me at the time.
“Also, at the top of the mountain, the dams are full and there is plenty of feed for the cows but nowadays they choose to stay down near the house.
“It’s strange that they would just leave it.”
Mr Stapleton said he took the recent photographs the morning after a particularly wet storm in April.
“The creek that night was four and a half to five metres deep and 120 to 130 metres wide, so I’m pretty sure it would have been a very big effort to go to if it was someone playing a practical joke,” he said.
Professor Opit said he would like to hear from people who have stories of unidentified animals, such as Mr Stapleton’s, and can be contacted via email at garyopit@bigpond.com
Yes, it’s a yowie
Singleton Argus
26/09/2008 1:59:00 PM
WHILE the majority of scientists do not acknowledge their existence, a leading cryptozoologist believes a Glendonbrook property was recently visited by a yowie.
After receiving some photographs taken by Glendonbrook resident Lloyd Stapleton of some strange footprints found on his property, cryptozoologist (person who studies animals whose existence is disputed) and environmental scientist, Professor Gary Opit, said the shape and size of the footprints had the hallmarks of a yowie.
“From my viewing of the photos, the footprints were made by a large bipedal (two legged) animal, and in my opinion, more than likely a yowie,” Professor Opit said.
“It appears as if the yowie has leapt over Mr Stapleton’s gates and landed quite heavily on the balls of its right foot, not flat footed, and this left a deep impression.
“There is another print of its left foot and then it appears to have walked onto the grass.”
The photos were sent to Professor Opit after a number of zoos and museums were unable to identify the footprints.
The yowie, the Australian version of the yeti / big foot, has been dismissed by most scientists as a myth because of a lack of physical evidence.
Professor Opit believes that yowies are a descendant from the genus Australopithecus, which were closely related to humans, stand around two metres tall, and are highly intelligent, ambush predators, eating mainly kangaroos, possums and bandicoots.
He believes that yowies were once in abundant numbers in Australia, but were hunted into near extinction by Aborigines and dingoes.
However, with no hunting threats for quite some time, their numbers have begun to grow, which has resulted in increased sightings by people.
“Most people don’t believe they exist for one second but I’m fortunate that I’ve actually seen one and heard their calls,” Professor Opit said.
“And so many people have contacted me with reports, I can’t say they are all hoaxes.”
While initially disbelieving of the fact he had a yowie visiting him, Mr Stapleton said a number of strange occurrences, other than the footprints, led him to suspect that there was something out of the ordinary getting around on his property.
“A few years ago, I heard a growling near the tree line when I was doing some work on my shed at night,” he said.
“I’d never heard anything like it before, it was too big a volume in noise to be a dog.
“It frightened the daylights out of my two German Shepherds who were with me at the time.
“Also, at the top of the mountain, the dams are full and there is plenty of feed for the cows but nowadays they choose to stay down near the house.
“It’s strange that they would just leave it.”
Mr Stapleton said he took the recent photographs the morning after a particularly wet storm in April.
“The creek that night was four and a half to five metres deep and 120 to 130 metres wide, so I’m pretty sure it would have been a very big effort to go to if it was someone playing a practical joke,” he said.
Professor Opit said he would like to hear from people who have stories of unidentified animals, such as Mr Stapleton’s, and can be contacted via email at garyopit@bigpond.com
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Premier's panther interest welcomed
http://hawkesbury.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/premiers-panther-interest-welcomed/1280982.aspx
Premier's panther interest welcomed
24/09/2008 10:58:00 AM
THE Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia has welcomed the news NSW Premier Nathan Rees is considering a serious investigation into big cat sightings in the Sydney basin and beyond.
Mike Williams, who has been investigating reports of ‘panthers’ around Australia since 2001, said the staggering volume of reports – many accompanied by compelling photographic and physical evidence – warranted closer attention from biologists and government authorities.
“There’s something going on in the Australian bush. We don’t know if the source of these reports is some kind of introduced exotic cat species or a feral cat mutation, but what we do know is that hundreds of people have seen these animals. It’s not just a case of mistaken identity,” Mr Williams said.
“It’s important that the close-minded sceptics don’t derail future efforts to investigate the growing volume of ‘panther’ reports.
“The Hawkesbury City Council has rallied behind concerned locals and several scientists have thrown their weight behind the notion that there could be large felids living in the bush... The interest of the Premier is a welcome addition to the ranks.”
The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) has worked closely with residents in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains region, and has contributed to a privately held database of 360-plus sightings created by Grose Vale resident Chris Coffey.
Mr Williams, who is co-writing a book on ‘panther’ sightings across Australia, is interested to hear from readers who have had a sighting or taken any interesting photographs, video or casts of the animal.
He can be contacted via email at australianbigcats@gmail.com or directly on 0416 303 371. Visit his website at www.australianbigcats.com
Premier's panther interest welcomed
24/09/2008 10:58:00 AM
THE Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia has welcomed the news NSW Premier Nathan Rees is considering a serious investigation into big cat sightings in the Sydney basin and beyond.
Mike Williams, who has been investigating reports of ‘panthers’ around Australia since 2001, said the staggering volume of reports – many accompanied by compelling photographic and physical evidence – warranted closer attention from biologists and government authorities.
“There’s something going on in the Australian bush. We don’t know if the source of these reports is some kind of introduced exotic cat species or a feral cat mutation, but what we do know is that hundreds of people have seen these animals. It’s not just a case of mistaken identity,” Mr Williams said.
“It’s important that the close-minded sceptics don’t derail future efforts to investigate the growing volume of ‘panther’ reports.
“The Hawkesbury City Council has rallied behind concerned locals and several scientists have thrown their weight behind the notion that there could be large felids living in the bush... The interest of the Premier is a welcome addition to the ranks.”
The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) has worked closely with residents in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains region, and has contributed to a privately held database of 360-plus sightings created by Grose Vale resident Chris Coffey.
Mr Williams, who is co-writing a book on ‘panther’ sightings across Australia, is interested to hear from readers who have had a sighting or taken any interesting photographs, video or casts of the animal.
He can be contacted via email at australianbigcats@gmail.com or directly on 0416 303 371. Visit his website at www.australianbigcats.com
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