David Fleay News Today

The Bronx Zoo wanted a baby platypus. Penelope gave them something better: publicity.

A live platypus had never been seen in Europe when Churchill hatched his bizarre plan to have one sent 20,0000km by sea to London Zoo in the middle of historys biggest global war.

The colonisation of Australia coincided with a boom in European interest in exotic animals – so kangaroos, dingoes, wombats and more were shipped off regardless of practicalities

John Woinarksi’s copy of this 1935 classic of environmental writing is older than him, mostly broken, much read and priceless.

Until DNA researchers figure out a way to de-extinct the thylacine, or someone captures a live one rumored to still be roaming the Australian and Tasmanian bush, one of our only looks at the magnificent Tasmanian tiger is via black-and-white films of the last known member of the species – Benjamin, who was captured in

He has grown 10cm and gained over 150grams since being found in a Chermside park, and while that doesn’t sound like much, the crocodile known as

Normal text size Very large text size He died of the cold. His name was Benjamin, the thylacine, Ben, the last Tasmanian Tiger – only we didn’t know that when he was captured and put in a zoo in 1933. In grainy black-and-white footage, Benjamin paces his enclosure, yawning and baring his jaws. He lies down, he sniffs the concrete. At one point (off-screen) he even gives the cameraman a cheeky bite on the bum. He died three years later, locked out of his backroom shelter one freezing night, ...