Wild kangaroo street fight Aussie style

Иллюстрация из обширной книги известного британского ботаника Джорджа Шоу «Цветные изображения природных объектов», том 10, 1799 год.

Казалось бы, как можно найти неизвестный орган у животного (тем более млекопитающего), которое известно не одно столетие? Однако, так и случилось. Группа учёных из Великобритании, Австралии, Австрии и Германии, которую возглавляет британец Бенджамин Чарльтон (Benjamin D. Charlton), обнаружила у коал орган, при помощи которого они издают очень низкие звуки.

Есть в Австралии город Сидней.
Есть в Сиднее, конечно, музей,
Посвящённый юстиции
И сиднейской полиции .
А какой же, раз город Сидней!

Как во многих музеях планеты
Есть куратор, так есть он и в этом.
И, конечно, куратор
Сам родился когда-то,
Разумеется, тоже в Сиднее.

Как и множество умных людей,
Наш куратор конечно еврей был полон идей.
И однажды он взял
Да и книгу издал
И назвал её «Город теней»

В общем, в этом сиднейском музее.
Есть коллекция фото злодеев.
Не обычные фото.
И теперь мне охота
Познакомить вас с ними скорее.

Эти фото немного отличны
От того, к чему все мы привычны --
Не знакомый для нас
Снимок в профиль и фас,
А как-будто из жизни обычной.

Словно все эти мирные люди
Между серых безрадостных будней
В самой лучшей одежде
Заскочили, как прежде,
Чтобы сделать портрет в фото-студии.

Очень интересная серия про Австралию в доисторические времена. (К сожалению, фильм только на английском.)

В Австралии далёкой Есть птица Кyкебyрра, Когда она встречает Утренний восход, Она смеётся громко, И радyется бyрно, И прыгает по веткам Задом наперёд.

В Москве, на Первой Брестской, Живет Петрова Шyра. Она, как только встанет, Смеётся, и поёт. С yтра, как просыпается, В постели кyвыркается И прыгает по комнате Задом наперёд.

Just off the southwest coast of Australia, not far from Perth, is a place called Lake Hillier. It is located on a small island that is part of large chain of islands called the Recherche Archipelago. What is particularly odd about the lake is that it is as pink as bubble gum. Even if you collect the water and take it home with you, it remains pink.

В результате небольшой недавней полемики вспомнилась мне одна хорошая женщина: успешный писатель, поэт, активный блоггер, автор нескольких пьес и оперных либретто, известный литературно-театральный критик, и просто неравнодушный человек и житель Австралии (Melbourne). Речь пойдет о Alison Croggon и её статье «Why art?», где она подробно и обстоятельно описывает состояние культуры в Австралии, и объясняет, почему культура должна финансироваться правительством. Статья обширная, поэтому я переведу только ключевые моменты:

I thought it would be interesting to take some videos and photos of birds that are common in Melbourne, Australia where I lived in a suburb called Croydon. I'll also include my cassowary video which I took up in Queensland since it is a very rare and beautiful bird.

Here are some cockatoos that landed in my backyard one day:


In the suburbs you can often hear Kookaburras outside your window in the morning while it is still dark outside. They are quite loud and certainly do a good job of waking you up in the morning! Here is a photo I took of one at a local park.

And here is what they sound like:


This is a video I took of a Crimson Rosella. These are very common in the eastern part of Melbourne. We see them all the time in our yard.



There are also Eastern Rosellas which are also very common in this part of Melbourne. Here is a close up photo:



Occasionally in Melbourne you can see the black cockatoo. It is fairly rare though. If they come out is usually around dusk when it is difficult to get a good photo of them.



We also have lyre birds. They only come out at dusk in remote forest areas so they are rarely seen, but here is one from youtube:



In the northern part of Australia in Queensland there is a very rare bird called a Cassowary. You have to go deep into the rainforest to see them in the wild. This is a video I took from inside a bus recently way up in the forest near Cape Tribulation.



And here is a closer up photo:

There is a phenomenon in parts of rural Australia where it is reported that bright lights bounce across the road in the middle of the night. These lights have come to be known as Min Min lights.

In the Northwest part of New South Wales in Australia there is a road called the Nineteen-Mile Plain that runs from Brewarrina to Goodooga near the town of Boulia. Many people traveling this road have reported seeing what appear to be bright balls of light that look like car headlights. These lights disappear all of a sudden as you come closer to them, only to reappear and seemingly follow your car yet again as you continue down the road. Scientists attribute this phenomenon, not to alien life, but to cold, dense air that carries light across the horizon producing a mirage effect as discussed in this article.

The local aboriginals have a folk story that attributes the lights to the saga of little Dhundi and his brother. While camping one night, a great ball of fire appeared to Dhundi. Instead of being afraid he approached the ball of fire and saw that it was his missing brother. Ever since they have traveled together through the dark night skies. So when you see the balls of light you are reminded not to be afraid in the dark just as Dhundi wasn't when he went in search of his brother. Here is the full story as told in this collection:

"A LONGTIME AGO, in the Dreamtime, there were no stars in the sky. Everyone
in the tribe would sit around the fire all night. The children would look up with
wonder into the dreadful blackness overhead.

Mothers always warned their children never to run around after darkness
fell, because all sorts of cruel and ugly monsters were hiding behind bushes and stones. They were waiting to grab any little Wharoos who would wander beyond the light of the campfire. The most feared creature was the little Euree woman, who was lurking about, waiting to coax careless children away.

One little boy, whose name was Dhundi, used to lie awake at night and wonder
why the sky was so black. Dhundi thought that the Euree woman only wanted
naughty Wharoos, so he was always good.

One day, one of the elders of the tribe sent all the boys into the bush, with orders to stay for two days and one night. They were not to eat or drink anything at all until they returned to their goondis.

During the night, when the boys settled down, they snuggled close to each
other for warmth and fell asleep. A dreadful storm woke them up. Thunder and
lightning flashed all around. The boys were all very frightened.
“
It’s Wandah,” they whispered, huddling closer than ever. As the noise became
louder and louder, they shivered and clung together. No one dared look
up.

But unlike the others, one boy, Dhundi, wasn’t frightened. He got up. Looking
out into the darkness, Dhundi walked into the open space where all the noise
was coming from. He stood calling out, “I am Dhundi. I am not afraid.”

Suddenly, a big round ball of fire came down from the sky. Three times,
Dhundi called out, “I am not afraid! I am not afraid! I am not afraid!”

At that, the fireball opened. Inside there was a bright, glowing, red man
standing in front of him.

The red man said to Dhundi, “I am your brother. When I was your age, I was
coaxed away. And now, because you are very brave, I will show you how to put the stars in the sky and to light up the night.”

Dhundi, the brave boy, was never seen again.

That night, the Wirrigans danced with flaming torch sticks. The three
strongest warriors lit one end of their big boomerangs and threw them far up
into the black sky. Everyone looked on in awe as the boomerangs circled around and around, lighting up the dark sky, leaving behind a trail of sparks falling in all directions.

Everyone was so happy to see the sparkling stars light up the black sky. They
all watched, breathless, as the lighted boomerangs circled upward, hurtling far
out into the night sky.

The elders looked up and said, “The lighted boomerangs are still going
around and around in big circles! That is why the stars never stop in one place.”
Everyone was very sad that Dhundi, the boy who was so brave, had gone to
look for his brother, who must have been living in the big bright ball of light for
many years.

On a cold, dark night across the plains in this country, strange lights are often
seen.

The tribal elders from the Ngemba and Murrawarri tribes, whose country
borders this Nineteen-Mile Plain, used to say, “That’s Min Min—the Ghost Light,
which is only coming out at night, to cast an eerie light over the plains. It is
Dhundi and his brother, who live in the ball of fire.”"