#East Australia

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Get Foxy with the Grey-headed Flying Fox

Pteropus poliocephalus, better known as grey-headed flying foxes, are a species of megabat native to eastern Australia. They are typically found in rainforests, woodlands, and swamps, but they have also become common in more agricultural and urban areas, particularly those that maintain large groves of trees. They are semi-migratory, moving when food availability diminishes, and can travel over 1000 km (620 mi) over the course of a season.

Like most bats, grey-headed flying foxes forage at night. They feed exclusively on fruit, pollen, nectar, and tree bark-- most commonly from figs and two species of eucalyptus tree-- and may fly up to 50 km (31 mi) in a single night to find food. Although they are quite large, P. poliocephalus can fall prey to eagles, goannas and snakes, particularly as pups or juveniles.

Because they do not feed on insects, these bats do not use echolocation to navigate. Instead, they use a large range of calls to communicate with other members of their colony, which can contain several hundred members in the summer. Winter colonies are slightly smaller, and segregated by sex, but individuals and families within these groups will stay together for several generations.

Mating occurs between March and May, when males stake out territories and compete to attract females. After mating, mothers seclude themselves in a female-only colony and gestate a singe pup about 6 months after breeding. Weaning takes an additional 5-6 months, after which juveniles separate from their mother. Daughters typically stay within their mother's winter colony, while sons join the male colony after a year's time. Individuals take approximately 30 months to become fully mature, and may live up to 10 years in the wild.

The grey-headed flying fox is notable for being the largest of Australia's bat species. Adults can be anywhere from 600-1000 g (21.5- 35.2 oz), with a wingspan of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). As their name implies, the body is covered with burnt orange fur, and the face is large and fox-like, with none of the large ears or distinct nasal apparatuses that distinguish other bat species.

Conservation status: P. poliocephalus is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. Populations are declining largely due to habitat destruction. Many individuals are also killed by farmers, who consider them to be pests.

Photos

Vivien Jones

Shane Ruming

Andrew Mercer

[nando161mando]

Guadalajara, Mexico @antifastreet

[filibusterfrog]

east coast woes (one day apart)

[mysharona1987]

Australian doctor reveals what it's like in Gaza as UN backs ceasefire

Warning: he gets graphic.

Would mainstream USA news ever let this air?

[unteriors]

Wolai Avenue, Bentleigh East (Melbourne), Victoria.

[vintagecamping]

A family camping in East Alligator River

Kakadu National Park

1977

[troythecatfish]

The Jewish Council of Australia issued a statement that accuses Israel of misappropriating the Star of David

The statement noted that "Israel's soldiers have been documented emblazoning the Star of David on Palestinian prisoners, graffitiing it on the walls of houses they loot in Gaza, and using tanks to sear it into the rubble of what used to be recreation parks for families." It therefore said that "these actions place all Jewish people at risk by tarnishing us with these egregious human rights abuses."

Source: Mintpress

[apenitentialprayer]

When you have the chance, maybe say a prayer for the Australian independent bishop who was stabbed earlier today, along with his attacker. May Jacques Hamel and Thomas Becket pray as well.

[phantomchristinesuk]

Bridget Costello in her 3 different Christine wigs

(West End, Australia, Riyadh)

Pictures: Bridget Costello instagram

[terry-the-insane]

Animal of the Day for November 18: Flying Fox (Genus Pteropus)

Flying Foxes are the biggest Bats in the world, with the Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox having a 5'6 wingspan, you might be shorter than a bat. Luckily they are totally harmless, Flying Foxes are herbivores who mostly eat fruit instead of insects (or blood). They are also incapable of using echolocation.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Abroad with the Broad Shelled Turtle

Chelodina expansa, more commonly known as the broad shelled turtle, is one of the largest freshwater turtles in Australia. The length of their shells can reach up to 50 cm (19.6 in), and their neck accounts for an additional 60-80% of their total length. Because of this length, C. expansa tucks its head in sideways as opposed to pulling it directly into its shell. At maximum, females reach a mass of 6 kg (13.2 lbs), while males only typically weigh about 4 kg (8.8 lbs). The top of the shell, or carapace, is dark brown or green, while the underside is a light cream; the same is true for the broad shelled turtle's head, neck, and legs. The feet are webbed, and have large claws which help adults to dig or fend off predators.

While they spend the winter buried in the mud, the broad shelled turtle is most active during the summer months, from November to March. During this time they are almost entirely aquatic, rarely emerging from the water even to bask. This species lives throughout the river basins of eastern Australia, and can be found in rivers, dams, lakes, and wetlands with plenty of vegetation cover. C. expansa is entirely carnivorous, feeding on crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, and frogs via ambush, and carrion whenever it can find it. To locate prey, they have a keen sense of smell. Adults are not usually predated upon due to their thick shells and sharp claws, but eggs and juveniles are often prey for foxes, dingos, birds, rakalai, and large fish.

C. expansa nests in the winter, beginning in late February or March. Outside the mating season, individuals are generally solitary, but aggressive territoriality has not been observed. When mating time roles around, males seek out females to mate with; following the encounter, the female climbs out onto the bank and digs a nest for a clutch of anywhere from 5 to 28 eggs. To seal the nest, she then slams her body into the re-piled sand and mud, compacting it into a plug that will remain intact until the following year.

Incubation takes about 360 days, though some nests have been recorded as hatching at 500 days; this process is exceptionally slow due to the two periods of diapause, or developmental delays, that embryos pass through in order to survive the winter. Juveniles hatch in the spring, and emerge from the nest at the first heavy rain. It's unknown how long these turtles can live in the wild, but given their slow growth rate and adult invulnerability it's likely that they can live in excess of 20 years.

Conservation status: The IUCN consideres the broad shelled turtle to be Near Threatened, due primarily to habitat loss and high rates of nest predation by introduced foxes.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

Photos

Claire Treilibs

Catherine Heuzenroeder

Shanna Bignell via iNaturalist

[nando161mando]

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Majed Bamya's address to the General Assembly

[virtualhell]

You guys I’m a woman of the world I’m just a traveller going to all these cities I belong to no one and no one belongs to me

[mysharona1987]

[unteriors]

White Street, East Bunbury, Western Australia.

[nationsoftheworldtournament]

interact with this post in some way for me to randomly* assign you a country, territory, autonomous zone, or other region to research and follow current events for in 2024

Some clarifications before we get started

I'm using a random list generator to come up with these assignments so micronations won't be included

Everyone SHOULD be learning what they can about the genocide being inflicted against Palestinians and the Israel vs Palestine conflict more broadly, so for that reason I want everyone to treat Palestine as another country to learn more about in addition to the one I assign

interacting with this post in any way will be treated as an invitation to given you an assignment, this includes interacting exclusively to tell me NOT to do so

There's no set deadlines for turning anything in; if you wanna send new findings each week you're welcome to do that but you can also submit them monthly or even compile them to release at the end of 2024

Multiple interactions via the same blog won't lead to multiple assignments unless you explicitly ask for more

While I'm not going to explicitly require or forbid you to use specific sources I'd encourage you to look at sources both from within your assigned nation as well as from those outside of it, and in general be aware of fact checking and whatnot

*and some clarification: this won't be entirely at random because I'm going to generally try to avoid assigning anybody their own country...but like if you don't have it in your bio I'm not gonna ask what it is I'll just not worry about it when giving you your assignment