Adventure Ausrama Blog

Sharks may seem to be invincible, yet they have some significant weaknesses. While some dolphins succumb to their attacks, acting as a group they can kill a shark by ramming it. Sharks also have to keep moving otherwise they die. Now it has been discovered that fresh water is their enemy. They get dehydrated and cannot remain alert. Breeding is out of the question in non-salty water. A terrific battle for survival ensues as sharks continually keep sinking. The reason for this is that sharks do not have air bladders. This "device" enables fish to swim at mid-depths. Sharks use their oily livers to stay afloat - very inefficient. They have to work 50 per cent harder when they leave the sea. Freshwater species of shark have refined the evolution of their livers. The organs are flatter than their ocean cousins. There is a penalty for a flatter liver. A fatter body means a less sleek body which makes river and estuary species slower. Even with fatter live

Many animals have not been seen for a long time. Indeed, it is not known whether they have become extinct. Some, of course, live in places not usually visited by humans. Recently a beaked whale was washed up on a beach Australia. It is rare and lives deep in the sea. The actual species cannot be verified by manual examination of the body, Part of the body will be sent to the Australian Science Museum in Sydney for DNA tests and X-ray scans to determine the correct species. Not much is known about beaked whales because they live so far down in the sea. Only stranded and beached specimens have been found. They do come to the surface to breath but do not linger there for very long. Many scientists have never seen a live beaked whale. A beaching of this kind is very rare indeed. Parts of the body will be thoroughly examined to shed more light on how the mammal lives.  We will never know everything about fellow animals.  The more we know the better. ✴ Science by T

There may be alien creature "out there" - Well many believe that there is - but some weird things live on this planet. In the ocean depths of Australia odd living organisms have recently been discovered. At first glance they look like floating mushrooms. They are not related to fungi though. The creatures are actually flowering plants and vertebrates. Dendrogramma mostly consist of a stomach surrounded by jelly-like skin. Scientists believe they are the remnants of early life forms which appeared before the life that went on to dominate the Earth. In other words they were a dead end. They are unique, not related in any way to life that eventually became successful across the globe. There are a lot of new things still continuing their existence at the bottom of the oceans. Many are very specialized living off toxic substances that would kill other organisms. Don't bother to look for life in the stars. Much still awaits discovery beneath our feet. ✴

There has always been a belief that Australia's future lies in finding a mineral that is plentiful in the north west of the country. Till now this has not been achieved. Everyone knows that Western Australia is full of iron ore so this is not what they are looking for. Drilling for many years has just made holes in the ground. Companies have gone over ground already explored before. This is how the latest find was made. There is oil there and in vast quantities. Apache Corp. has made the announcement that was greeted with surprise by some people. Apache was searching for gas when it made the discovery. Considering Australia's oil production has fallen to its lowest level for forty years this can only be good news. Income to Western Australia from iron ore has declined due to a fall in Chinese demand. The price for iron ore is down by a third since January. Australia is producing far more ore than it can sell. Coal is not doing well either. The oil

"Are you sure this is the right way, Fred?" Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vista Computer Solutions Blog        Australian Blog ★                          ALL BLOG ARTICLES · ──► ( BLOG HOME PAGE) Share Article

Sharks are not the indestructible creatures many think they are.  There is a myth surrounding sharks that they are virtually made of steel.  They can bite through anything and withstand great hardship. A strong four-meter long white pointer was washed up dead on a Western Australian beach.  It certainly did bite off more than it could chew.  The cause of death was choking on a sea lion. There was no sign of any major injury to its body, just a large sea lion lodged in its throat.  It was observed jostling around in the shallows shortly before being washed up on a Coronation Beach, apparently trying to dislodge the sea lion. A man walking his dog first saw the shark and thought it was a diver.  There was an attempt to save the shark by towing it out to sea.  It was not known then what was the cause of its distress.  However, it later washed up dead on the beach. Biology by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.co

Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, military commander of Australia's People-smuggling operation believes that "Australia is seen as reasonable and generous in its treatment of refugees."  How stupid and out of touch can you be.  The world knows that Australia couldn't care less about the welfare of refugees. Don't get me wrong here:  I was the first person in Australia to suggest sending those seeking asylum home, on this very blog .  However, I said economic migrants should be flown home, not turned around in Indonesian waters and send into imminent danger in a small (provided) orange boat. Agreements should have been reached with the countries of origin of the disenchanted people to safely transport them home.  Australia is in the top three nations resettling refugees, but we are falling fast from this position because our actions are draconian.  They are ruthlessly too effective.  No other country has taken such harsh measures. The real problem i

As fertile land becomes "all used up" with increasing demand for food we will rely more on the sea for nourishment, after we experiment with eating insects of course. Marine-based industries care little about the consequences of their actions at the moment. This has to change to make the oceans a renewable resource. Australia has the third largest controlled ocean territory in the world. This country has more responsibility than most countries. We allow nations to fish our waters but foreign fishing fleets seldom stay within the rules that are set. Overfishing is common. The Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo are World Heritage Areas. We will have to protect and regulate more region around the coast of this vast continent. This may be selfish as we have a low population that enjoys to swim, dive, surf, sail and fish on an individual basis. However, with control comes responsibility. Australia's marine industry will rise from about A$40 billion to A$100

There is a lot of research on climate change. However, countries are doing very little to reduce pollution. They are not reacting at all to the clear data pointing to damage caused to the planet by humans. In the Antarctic the latest evidence shows some movement in the ice "plug" holding massive amounts of ice back from the ocean. If this plug fails, ice will slide into the sea raising the planet's water level by many meters, permanently. Cities on the coast around the world will be flooded. It was thought that only the western side of the Antarctic was in danger of raising sea level. It now appears that the eastern side where the plug is situated is also at risk. The weather in the US has been extremely erratic over the last ten years. The cost to the nation is in the billions of dollars. Insurance companies will react as they have done in Australia. Premiums have more than doubled in recent years. Some areas of Australia cannot get insurance cover a