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2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year revealed

<p>The finalists of the 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition have been revealed, with the talented photographers capturing the magic of the animal kingdom. </p> <p>The competition, run by the Natural History Museum, saw its largest number of entries yet, with 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories.</p> <p>Shane Gross, a Canadian photojournalist, was the overall winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his captivating image capturing the "magical underwater world of western toad tadpoles."</p> <p>Kathy Moran, Chair of the Jury and Editor said: "The jury was captivated by the mix of light, energy and connectivity between the environment and tadpoles. We were equally excited by the addition of a new species to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year archive."</p> <p>A few other winners included a photo of a "curious" leopard seal looking into the camera, a sleeping baby monkey, and a "wrestle" between an anaconda and caiman. </p> <p>Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum said: "Wildlife Photographer of the Year's longevity is a testament to the vital importance and growing appreciation of our natural world."</p> <p>"We are delighted to feature such inspiring images in this year's portfolio - these are photographs that not only encourage further wildlife conservation efforts, but that spark the creation of real advocates for our planet on a global scale."</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;">Take a look at some of this year's best entries below.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;"><em>Images: Wildlife Photographer of the Year</em></p>

International Travel

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Gold medallist sleeps in Paris park to protest "disappointing" Olympic village conditions

<p>A gold medallist has been spotted sleeping in a Paris park in protest of the conditions in the Olympic village. </p> <p>Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was captured sleeping atop a white towel in a park located inside the Olympic village by Saudi rower Husein Alireza. </p> <p>Alireza posted the photo to Instagram with the caption, "Rest today, conquer tomorrow."</p> <p>The Italian swimmer, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, had already complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village, after he failed to reach the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday.</p> <p>Since the commencement of the Paris Games, many athletes have spoken out about the conditions in the Olympic village, saying the beds are uncomfortable, the rooms are poorly air conditioned and the food is poor quality. </p> <p>“There is no air-conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29673636/thomas-ceccon-sleeping-park-conditions-olympic-village-paris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Sun</em>. </a></p> <p>“Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows."</p> <p>“I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”</p> <p>Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, also voiced concerns about how the quality of the village is affecting athletes, telling <em>The Times of London</em>, “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates.”</p> <p>“And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.”</p> <p>A number of athletes, including the entire US women’s tennis team (with the exception of Coco Gauff) have left the village and searched for alternate accommodation for the duration of the Games. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram/Panoramic/SIPA/SIPA/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Highly-decorated conservationist dies aged 72

<p>British conservationist and presenter of <em>Wildlife SOS </em>Simon Cowell has died aged 72, following a battle with cancer. </p> <p>His charity, the Wildlife Aid Foundation, confirmed the sad news in a statement posted on their official website, saying that he died on June 9. </p> <p>"It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of Simon Cowell MBE, conservationist, founder and CEO of the Wildlife Aid Foundation, and presenter of Wildlife SOS," the statement began.</p> <p>"Simon passed away on 9th June after a brave battle with cancer.</p> <p>"Simon was one of the UK's most respected conservationists and a passionate advocate for wildlife protection and environmental causes.</p> <p>"He dedicated his life to British wildlife and worked tirelessly to ensure countless injured and orphaned animals were given a second chance in the wild through rescue, clinical treatment, and rehabilitation," the statement continued. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8CeCrzIEv2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8CeCrzIEv2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Wildlife Aid Foundation (@wildlifeaid)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>They also said that "Simon believed that every animal matters," before ending their statement with: "His loss will be greatly felt by his loved ones, 2-legged and 4-legged, alike."</p> <p>Cowell started his foundation back in 1987. In 2005 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to wildlife. </p> <p>The <em>Wildlife SOS </em>star shared his terminal lung cancer diagnosis back in July 2022, and the cancer soon spread to his other organs. </p> <p>Cowell passed away peacefully surrounded by his partner Stana, his daughters Louisa and Gemma, and two pet dogs. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

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Wild moment giraffe snatches toddler from car

<p>A father has recalled the heart-stopping moment his toddler was snatched by a giraffe at a safari park in Texas. </p> <p>Jason Toten, 24, his fiancé Sierra Robert, 23, and their daughter Paisley were at Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre in Glen Rose where visitors can drive-through the park and get close to wild animals. </p> <p>"We were having a little family day, just getting out of the house," Jason told a local news outlet. </p> <p>While the family were admiring the view, one giraffe slowly approached them and the pair encouraged their daughter to offer it some food, but within an instant, the two-year-old girl was lifted into the air.</p> <p>"I looked out the back window and I saw the giraffe … and then up she went," Jason recalled. </p> <p>The giraffe, who was only trying to grab the bag of food from Paisley, accidentally hoisted the toddler up by her shirt, with other park visitors behind them capturing the wild moment. </p> <p>Sierra reacted immediately and clung to her child, as she was pulled into the air, and all it took for the giraffe to let go was a stern "hey". </p> <p>The giraffe then dropped the tot back into the car uninjured, and throughout the entire ordeal Paisley was the bravest of them all. </p> <p>"I guess it startled the giraffe. She wasn't even scared," Jason recalled. </p> <p>"As soon as her mom caught her, she went 'oh.'" </p> <p>"It scared me but after it was all over, we realised everyone was safe and unharmed, and we laughed about it," Jason added. </p> <p>After the incident, the family took Paisley to the gift shop and "all she wanted was a giraffe toy and a giraffe T-shirt."</p> <p>"We ended up getting her both, we figured she deserved it."</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Woman fined after paid car park gets set up around her parked vehicle

<p>Josephine Williams had been leaving her car in a gravel clearing at Westgate in Auckland, alongside other commuters to catch the bus into the city for months. </p> <p>The New Zealand woman was left with a "nasty surprise" when she returned from work on Monday to find a NZ $85 ($77) fine sitting on her windshield. </p> <p>"To my unfortunate surprise - and many others - I was greeted by an $85 parking ticket for a breach and a flyer from Wilson Parking saying paid parking had started that day," Williams told <em>Stuff</em>.</p> <p>"But what breach exactly was made? How was I supposed to know paid parking started that day when there was nothing at all displayed anywhere in the car park?"</p> <p>Williams claimed that the Wilson Parking car park had been set up around her already parked car, even providing dash cam footage that showed her pulling into the gravel clearing at 7.45am, with no paid parking signs or Wilson branding in sight. </p> <p>By 6pm, a large red and white Wilson sign had been put up at the entrance, with "12 hours for $4" written on it. </p> <p>"Wilson deliberately put their sign up sometime after 9am and then took it upon themselves to fine every single car that was already parked there from the morning," Williams said.</p> <p>"$85 is a lot of money - it would have been two weeks' worth of grocery shopping for me," she added. </p> <p>"I'm lucky that I know the law and my rights, but some other people might not. What about students or the elderly or people who don't know English well?"</p> <p>She estimated that there was usually around 50 and 100 cars in the gravel clearing. </p> <p>Wilson argued that the carpark was always there and they had just added more signage, but have since waived Williams' fine after she lodged a request to have it reviewed by Parking Enforcement Services. </p> <p>Wilson Parking also said that they had started to set up the car park and installed a "clear signage" on April 22. </p> <p>"It was not set up around parked cars on 29 April as suggested," a Wilson spokesperson said.</p> <p>"Several payments were made by customers via the Parkmate app from 22 April proving that signage on the site was clear and effective," they said.</p> <p>They added that on April 29 more signs were added to all entry points of the car park. </p> <p>"In acknowledgment of the increased signage added on the 29th at the entry we've made the decision to refund all payments made until 30 April and waive any breach notices issued up to this date."</p> <p>They also denied issuing any breach notices before the signs were put up.</p> <p>"Payment options were available and signed from 22 April - but no infringement notices were issued prior to the 29th."</p> <p><em>Images: Stuff</em></p> <p> </p>

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Our dogs can terrify (and even kill) wildlife. Here’s how to be a responsible owner this summer

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-starling-461103">Melissa Starling</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>In Australia, dog ownership often goes hand-in-hand with a love for the great outdoors. Whether it’s walking on the beach, going camping, or having a barbecue in the park, we tend to keep our canine companions close as we soak up the sun.</p> <p>But many of us forget a key fact about our dogs: they are predators. Even the fluffy little 5kg ball that spends most of its time in your lap derives from an apex predator – and its predatory instincts can kick in at any time.</p> <p>And while many of our dogs don’t have the same hunting skills as their distant ancestors (who had to hunt for a living), wildlife doesn’t know that.</p> <p>The impacts of domestic dogs on wildlife aren’t well studied, and likely vary depending on the environment. Nonetheless, there’s good evidence domestic dogs, when left unobserved, can have detrimental effects in the places they visit.</p> <p>With that in mind, here are some things to consider next time you take your pup out for a bushwalk.</p> <h2>How dogs impact ecosystems</h2> <p>There are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717305967">five main ways</a> domestic dogs can negatively impact the natural environments they visit. These are:</p> <ol> <li>direct physical harm through predatory behaviour</li> <li>disturbance through chasing and harassment</li> <li>increased exposure to diseases</li> <li>interbreeding, which can alter the gene pool of wild canid populations</li> <li>increased competition for resources.</li> </ol> <p>The good news is the last three points aren’t particularly relevant in Australia. For one thing, there’s little overlap between diseases common in domestic dogs and Australian wildlife. There’s also little resource overlap, except perhaps in some areas where feral or semi-feral dogs live alongside dingoes.</p> <p>And regarding potential interbreeding, while it was once thought this could threaten the dingo gene pool, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.16998">recent research</a> suggests it’s not nearly as common as we thought.</p> <p>As such, the main harms Aussie dog owners should focus on are physical harms through predatory behaviour and disturbance to ecosystems.</p> <h2>Dogs can kill</h2> <p>We know dogs are capable of injuring and killing wildlife, but it’s difficult to determine how common this is, because many events go unreported. While smaller animals such as lizards, gliders and possums are at higher risk, larger species such as koalas can also fall prey to dogs.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206958">One study</a> that looked at wildlife coming into care at Queensland rehabilitation centres reported dog attacks as the cause in about 9% of cases. These cases often resulted in severe injury or death.</p> <p>Dog owners should be especially wary of small, localised populations of vulnerable species. A <a href="https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/202640/CONICET_Digital_Nro.29048152-7a5c-4ea2-8068-e73d42cba01d_B.pdf?sequence=2&amp;isAllowed=y">study</a> in Argentina’s Patagonia region details several cases of dogs decimating local penguin populations after gaining access to protected island areas during low tide.</p> <p>Not to mention, dog attacks on wildlife can bring risk to dogs as well. Kangaroos can defend themselves with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-16/mildura-man-fights-kangaroo-to-protect-dog/102983926">their powerful limbs</a>, monitor lizards are equipped with sharp claws and teeth, and many snake species <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/dogs-twice-as-likely-to-die-from-snake-bite-as-cats-research-finds-20200519-p54ufd.html">are highly venomous</a>.</p> <h2>The impact of harassment</h2> <p>You might think it’s harmless for your dog to chase wildlife if it never manages to catch the animals it chases, but that isn’t true. Wild animals optimise their behaviours to meet their needs for foraging, breeding and resting, and being chased by a dog can disrupt this.</p> <p>For example, certain threatened bird species will nest on the beach and find foraging opportunities based on the tides. One dog forcing one bird to abandon this important activity may have a small impact. But if it happens repeatedly throughout the day, it can become a <a href="https://wilderness-society.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dogs-as-agents-of-disturbance-Michael-A.-Weston-and-Theodore-Stankowich.pdf">much bigger problem</a>. It may even drive animals out of the area.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391219/">Research</a> conducted in Sydney has shown the mere presence of a leashed dog is enough to temporarily, yet dramatically, reduce the number of bird species detected.</p> <h2>Keep an eye on your furry pal</h2> <p>Responsible dog ownership involves making sure our dogs have a minimal impact on others, including wildlife. How can we achieve this when our dogs are simply engaging in behaviours that come naturally to them, and may even be rewarding for them?</p> <p>Training your dog to have general obedience – especially to come when called – is worth sinking considerable time and effort into. This can save both your dog and any wildlife they may be after. For instance, calling a dog away from a snake is one of the most effective ways of managing snake bite risk.</p> <p>One <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333344634_Applying_Social_Marketing_to_Koala_Conservation_The_Leave_It_Pilot_Program">pilot study</a> in Victoria found positive outcomes from a program that helped owners train their dogs to be more obedient around wildlife.</p> <p>That said, recall training is an art form, and recalling a dog that likes to run off and chase animals can be a huge challenge.</p> <p>Another solution is to rely on leashes when passing sensitive areas, or where there’s a risk of wildlife harassment. In Australia, many beaches that allow dogs have signs with information about vulnerable birds in the area and how to protect them from your dog.</p> <p>This could mean keeping your dog off rock platforms, leashing them when you see birds foraging on the beach, or keeping them out of fenced areas. Some areas are simply too vulnerable for dogs to run amok, so always look for signs and read them carefully.</p> <p>If you’re hiking, use a long line (a leash that’s more than five metres long) and look for signs of your dog detecting something of interest. Often their ears will come up high and forward, and they will freeze and stare intently.</p> <p>At this point, it doesn’t matter what they’re excited about: take the opportunity to leash them or shorten their leash, and get their attention before they can take off. Investing in a long leash will allow your dog more freedom without putting wildlife at risk.</p> <p>If your dog does injure an animal, you should quickly contact a wildlife rescue organisation or take the animal to a veterinary practice or sanctuary. For small animals, even minor injuries from a dog will usually require veterinary attention.</p> <p>It’s our responsibility to be respectful visitors when we’re out in nature, and to make sure our dogs are too. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214722/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/melissa-starling-461103"><em>Melissa Starling</em></a><em>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Veterinary Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-dogs-can-terrify-and-even-kill-wildlife-heres-how-to-be-a-responsible-owner-this-summer-214722">original article</a>.</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"Colossal prick" slammed over outrageous Bunnings parking

<p>A motorist in Perth has been slammed for their "extra selfish" parking act in the carpark of a Bunning's Warehouse. </p> <p>A frustrated fellow shopper captured the parking faux pas and posted the image of the car to Reddit, which shows a ute with an attached trailer parking over four spaces, including one reserved for people with disabilities.</p> <p>"There was no disabled badge and of course there is plenty of trailer parking available at Bunnings," the user wrote, adding that there were suitable bays available closer to the store's entrance.</p> <p>Fellow motorists and shoppers were shocked and appalled by the selfish act, with one Reddit user urging the author of the post to send the photo to both Bunnings and the local council, citing a $500 fine as a deterrent for the future.</p> <p>"Blocking the disabled bay gets extra selfish points," a user commented, while someone else vented, "Not content with being a colossal prick and taking up four spots, decides to go world-class and make one of those spots a disabled parking bay. Some f**king people."</p> <p>The post was flooded by outrage at the audacious parking, with users overwhelmingly agreeing that parking in spaces designated for disabled drivers is inexcusable.</p> <p>After being alerted to the post, Bunnings Regional Operations Manager Hayley Coulson expressed disappointment on behalf of the retailer. "We were disappointed to learn a customer recently used a disability parking bay for their trailer outside our Innaloo store, which our team was unaware of at the time."</p> <p>"These parking bays are incredibly important for the community and we remind our customers that they're only reserved for people with a disability or mobility restrictions."</p> <p>She added, "We're really focused on ensuring disability parking bays are always available for their intended use, and we do our best to communicate regularly with our stores to remind them that these bays are not to be compromised for any reason, at any time."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Reddit</em></p>

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Disney star dies at just 29

<p>South Korean actress Park Soo Ryun, who starred in the K-drama Disney+ series <em>Snowdrop</em> has passed away aged 29.</p> <p>According to the <em>Mirror</em>, Ryun fell down a flight of stairs on June 11, at a property on Jeju Island, South Korea’s largest island, where she was scheduled to perform.</p> <p>The actress was reportedly taken to hospital for emergency treatment but was sadly pronounced dead by medics after she couldn't be revived.</p> <p>Ryun’s family have decided to donate her organs, according to K-pop website <em>Soompi</em>.</p> <p>The star’s mother told South Korean media, “Only her brain is unconscious, and her heart is still beating. There must be someone who desperately needs [organs]. “As her mother and father, we will be able to live comforted [by the thought that her heart] has gone to someone and is beating.”</p> <p>A fan account for the Snowdrop series posted a tribute for the late star, “A painful day. Heard [sic] to breathe,”</p> <p>“The most beautiful light, the most beautiful flower. Rest in peace.”</p> <p>Fans flocked to the comments to show their support.</p> <p>“Rest in peace, you will be in our hearts forever." one said.</p> <p>“Rest in peace.” another wrote.</p> <p>Ryun got her big break in 2018 when she appeared in the musical <em>Il Tenore</em>.</p> <p>She made her TV acting debut in 2021 with <em>Snowdrop</em> alongside Blackpink singer Jisoo.</p> <p>Another <em>Snowdrop</em> actress also passed away unexpectedly at age 29 in 2022.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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How Jurassic Park changed film-making and our view of dinosaurs

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/travis-holland-299087">Travis Holland</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a></em></p> <p>In June 1993, director Steven Spielberg released a film that unleashed a wave of technological change in film-making and simultaneously helped to revive popular interest in dinosaurs.</p> <p>Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton’s novel, spawned five blockbuster sequels as well as a multitude of spin-off games, toys, novels, and multiple animated television shows. It features a theme park housing de-extincted dinosaurs that break out of their confines and cause havoc.</p> <p>Underpinning the plot is clever genetic engineering that has allowed the Park’s scientists to assume they could control all aspects of the dinosaurs’ development, including their sex, much to their later horror when it becomes apparent such control was never possible.</p> <p>The film franchise has taken an average of over $1 billion dollars at the box office, <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/jurassic-world-dominion-box-office-billion-1235380452/">according to Variety</a>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QWBKEmWWL38?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>From puppets to CGI</h2> <p>According to industry legend and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20102096/?ref_=ttep_ep6">multiple documentaries</a>, Spielberg had planned to use only practical effects, including stop-motion Velociraptors and an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, well into the filming schedule, he was convinced to also include wholly digital dinosaurs after viewing test footage produced by staff at special effects house Industrial Light &amp; Magic.</p> <p>In <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477325308/">a critical history</a> of Industrial Light &amp; Magic, Julie Turnock observes that the film “relied on a canny mix of large-scale mechanical effects cut together with a few digitally generated shots”. After its success, ILM embraced digital composition technology more fully and integrated it into many later films.</p> <p>As it stands, Jurassic Park features about 50 shots of digital-only prehistoric creatures, including the first full-body scene of a dinosaur – the sauropod Brachiosaurus - flocking Gallimumus, and the T. rex chasing a Jeep.</p> <p>Industrial Light &amp; Magic <a href="https://www.ilm.com/vfx/jurassic-park/">now claims on their website</a> that “Suddenly, directors could imagine making films in which realistic animals, fantasy creatures, even digital people could perform without restraint.”</p> <p>Nowadays, films and television productions are replete with photoreal computer-generated animals and people and the next revolution in screen production has them projected live behind actors on a series of large screens known as “<a href="https://theasc.com/articles/the-mandalorian">the volume</a>”.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BPUEqvfQuHY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Palaeontologists aren’t extinct</h2> <p>Shortly after seeing their first dinosaur, on-screen palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) suggests to his palaeobotanist partner Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) that the de-extinction success of Jurassic Park might make their profession redundant. Their colleague Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) responds, “Don’t you mean extinct?”</p> <p>But far from extinction, palaeontology and associated sciences have seen an extensive rebound in public interest in the thirty years since Jurassic Park was released.</p> <p>In 1975, palaeontologist Robert Bakker <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24949774.pdf?casa_token=s5us3t_9TrQAAAAA:hxfVrmS11FACTHHYosZSqQMLDJRWJZTE3a4ggr7kIFauNoIvT8WjUJaZ5hxrKkFNqMcn3-68yiuLlH1tWU7k4o--xCDBpQwYPv4tXjF8KTIU8kpHo0vS">popularised the term “dinosaur renaissance”</a> to describe a spate of developing research findings which argued the creatures were endothermic (warm-blooded), active, and related to the birds rather than cold-blooded, slow and wholly extinct as had been the public perception for much of the previous century. This renaissance lasted from about the 1960s into the 1980s and Jurassic Park reflected many of these new orthodoxies.</p> <p>Bakker himself consulted for the film and was referenced by the character Tim Murphy. A Bakker lookalike also appeared in the sequel The Lost World, further reinforcing its role in reflecting these new perspectives.</p> <p>But the film also arrived at the dawn of yet another new age of dinosaur discoveries which Steve Brusatte, in his 2018 book <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760780524/">The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs</a>, described as “the golden age of discovery”. Brusatte referred to the cohort of scientists making these newer discoveries as “men and women from many backgrounds who came of age in the era of Jurassic Park.” Among their findings are new understandings that many dinosaurs were feathered like their modern avian cousins.</p> <p>Elizabeth Jones recently chronicled the history of the field of “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300240122/ancient-dna/">ancient DNA</a>” science, noting the “Jurassic Park effect” playing out on this fascinating area of research:</p> <blockquote> <p>Even as scientists rejected the conclusions or the implications of the <em>Jurassic Park</em> narrative, they drew on the popularity of the book and movie to emphasise the importance of the technical enterprise in which they were engaged.</p> </blockquote> <p>And <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjes-2022-0131">a recent review</a> of the last 60 years of dinosaur research by celebrated palaeontologist Philip J. Currie suggested “public interest continues to be stimulated by a multibillion-dollar movie, media, and toy industry founded on our interest in dinosaurs.”</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">A scene from Jurassic Park (1993)</span> <span class="attribution">IMDB</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>The Jurassic Park legacy</h2> <p>Dinosaurs have long featured in popular media such as films and television. The first animated dinosaur, Gertie, debuted as <a href="https://palaeomedia.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2019/07/24/meet-gertie-the-dinosaurus/">part of a vaudeville performance in 1914</a>. Dinosaurs, including a fearsome Tyrannosaurus featured in Disney’s groundbreaking and famed 1940 film Fantasia. But it was Jurassic Park which truly presented them as believable living creatures for the first time.</p> <p>Though the science of the film has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/feb/08/jurassic-park-dinosaur-inaccuracies">been widely criticised</a> since its release, Jurassic Park succeeded in revolutionising film-making and reigniting a public fascination with dinosaurs even as palaeontology itself underwent a boom in new research efforts. In <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/457392/did-i-ever-tell-you-this-by-neill-sam/9780241648988">his recent memoir</a>, actor Sam Neill described the film’s visuals as “a perfect collision of coming-of-age computer generated imagery… with state of the art puppetry”.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fb5ELWi-ekk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>The sequels sequels and spin-offs have continued to adapt to changing social expectations, featuring <a href="https://theconversation.com/toss-aside-those-high-heels-how-jurassic-worlds-claire-dearing-lights-a-path-for-women-in-action-films-182334">strong female</a> and <a href="https://www.pride.com/geek/2022/7/21/jurassic-world-camp-cretaceous-goes-out-queer-roar">queer characters</a>, and even <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jurassic-world-dominion-dinosaur-feathers">feathered dinosaurs</a> in response to changing scientific understandings.</p> <p>Perhaps the next Jurassic film will feature a full-lipped <a href="https://www-science-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/content/article/t-rex-lips-new-study-suggests">Tyrannosaurus</a>?<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203147/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/travis-holland-299087">Travis Holland</a>, Senior Lecturer in Communication, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-jurassic-park-changed-film-making-and-our-view-of-dinosaurs-203147">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Universal Pictures</em></p>

Movies

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“Irwin genes are strong”: Bindi shares adorable candid snap

<p>Bindi Irwin has delighted fans after sharing a sweet snap of her two-year-old daughter, Grace Warrior cuddling a giant tortoise.</p> <p>The wildlife warrior took to Instagram to share the sweet snap with a comparison photo of herself hugging a giant tortoise when she was around Grace’s age.</p> <p>“Holding my newborn daughter wondering if she’ll love wildlife like I did” she captioned one of the photos in the Reel.</p> <p>The next two photos showed comparison photos of the mother-daughter duo which showed that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.</p> <p>“Our Grace Warrior, the Wildlife Warrior," she captioned the post.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs4wPGzBjZZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs4wPGzBjZZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The adorable photo has been praised by fans who commented how proud Steve Irwin would be of his daughter and granddaughter.</p> <p>"It’s in the Irwin blood! You guys have the most beautiful connection with wildlife and each other! Steve Irwin genes are strong!” wrote one fan.</p> <p>"Your dad is probably so so proud looking down,” commented a second person.</p> <p>"This gives me happy goosebumps babe,” wrote a third.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Bindi Irwin breaks down on camera about health condition

<p>Bindi Irwin has shown her vulnerable side in an emotional new video shared with fans about a personal ordeal.</p> <p>The 24-year-old spoke candidly to the camera for 15 minutes with guest appearances from husband Chandler Powell and their daughter Grace Warrior.</p> <p>In the video, Irwin recalled the “insurmountable” pain she experienced due to endometriosis before finally <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/how-did-you-live-with-this-much-pain-bindi-irwin-hospitalised" target="_blank" rel="noopener">undergoing surgery</a>.</p> <p>The wildlife warrior announced her diagnosis in March 2023, but the new video explains her symptoms - which started when she was just 14 - that left her with “extreme fatigue, nausea and pain”.</p> <p>“I had pain every single day of my life. No matter where we went, where we were going, I would be falling asleep. I felt like I constantly had the flu,” she said.</p> <p>The conservationist confessed she tried everything to solve the issue, undergoing CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.</p> <p>“I was always in pain. We tried for a year, and finally a doctor told me it was just part of being a woman.”</p> <p>Irwin said it was that comment from a doctor that led her to suffer in silence.</p> <p>However, after giving birth to her daughter in 2021, the pain “magnified” to a point where it was “out of this world”.</p> <p>“I remember countless times of Grace needing me, and me crawling to her cot at night,” she revealed, becoming emotional.</p> <p>“I can remember being with Grace and lying on the floor in agony. I had a stabbing pain in my side, I couldn’t get up or I would throw up, and I was scared I would pass out.</p> <p>“I was so scared because I was worried if I was alone with Grace, something would happen to me, and she would be on her own.”</p> <p>Irwin dubbed the pain “insurmountable” and something that “would knock me over”.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr31hQDANTp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr31hQDANTp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>She said that after returning to new doctors, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue.</p> <p>It was not until she spoke to a friend, Leslie Mosier, who recently had endometriosis surgery that she realised they shared similar symptoms.</p> <p>“Leslie said the only way to diagnose for sure is through exploratory surgery.”</p> <p>Irwin said she decided to undergo surgery in the US as her daughter would have Powell’s parents, who live in Florida, nearby for support while she recovered.</p> <p>At this point in her video, Grace woke up and joined her mum on camera.</p> <p>“Mama went for surgery and they found 37 lesions and a chocolate cyst on my ovary,” she said in a child-like tone for the sake of her daughter.</p> <p>“Ovary!” Grace chirped.</p> <p>“After surgery mama feels a lot better hey? I had to recover for quite a while, and mama feels so much better, and she can run around with you!”</p> <p>Irwin went on to share what she has learned being a part of the endometriosis community.</p> <p>She revealed that excision surgery is considered the “gold standard” for the disease, where lesions and cysts are removed.</p> <p>“Everyone says we need to educate the public, but there also needs to be a shift in health care. Doctors need more information because endometriosis has myriad symptoms. Doctors need the right tools to diagnose.”</p> <p>She explained that her own endometriosis has been classified as severe, which means she may have to undergo more surgeries in the future to keep symptoms at bay.</p> <p>“I feel like. I got a second chance at life... I feel like a new woman.”</p> <p>In a final message of encouragement, Irwin said, “If you’re in pain, it’s so hard to get up every day and forge ahead.</p> <p>“Keep searching for those answers and never give up on you.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

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Six of the best wildlife cruise destinations

<p>Cruises allow nature lovers to get close to wildlife with small ships, unique itineraries and practical shore excursions. Here are six of the best places to see wildlife from the water.</p> <p><strong>Sea of Cortez, Mexico</strong></p> <p>Legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Baja California, the aquarium of the world. Where the sea meets the Pacific Ocean tidal currents create an ideal environment for sea life and you’ll see everything from tiny fish right up to sperm whales. Watch huge Pacific manta rays leap out of the water or grab a snorkel and dive with playful sea lions. California gray whales are one of the biggest drawcards, coming to the region to calve during the winter, and you’ll have the opportunity to get up close in a Zodiac.</p> <p><strong>Galapagos Islands </strong></p> <p>There’s nowhere in the world like the Galapagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago around 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. Look out for giant tortoises, iguanas, penguins, seals, sea lions and a spectacular array of birds, including the dancing blue-footed booby, albatross, pelican, heron and egret. Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835 and developed much of his evolutionary theory based on the adaptations of Galapagos bird species, especially finches.</p> <p><strong>Alaska</strong></p> <p>America’s 50<sup>th</sup> state is a true wilderness with wildlife to be seen in the ocean, on the land and in the air. Humpback and killer whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, otters and leaping salmon can be found in the water, seen either from the main cruise ship or on Zodiac excursions. Grizzly bears wander the shore alongside caribou, moose, beavers and even wolverines. The American national bird, the bald eagle, is a regular in the sky with a population of more than 30,000 – in fishing towns like Ketchikan you’ll even see them swooping around the docks for fish.</p> <p><strong>Antarctica</strong></p> <p>Penguins, penguins, penguins. From the cute little rockhopper penguins in the sub-Antarctic islands to the huge, 1.15 metre tall emperor penguins in continental Antarctica, not a day will go by on a cruise here that you don’t see a penguin. If you get penguined out, there are also killer and sperm whales, elephant seals, leopard seals and a huge number of sea birds like albatross, petrels and skuas. For a close encounter, jump in a kayak and paddle amongst the wildlife in the freezing waters.</p> <p><strong>Southern Africa</strong></p> <p>This is a safari with a difference. Small river ships cruise along the Chobe River through Botswana and Namibia carrying just a handful of passengers. The river runs through the Chobe National Park, which has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Elephants and buffalo can be seen right from the decks, splashing along the edges of the river just metres from the ship. Cruises here include early morning game drives that take passengers further into the national park to see lions, giraffe, leopards, antelope and plenty of birds.</p> <p><strong>Peruvian Amazon</strong></p> <p>Think dolphins only come in gray? Think again. A very rare breed of pink freshwater dolphin swims in the waters of the Amazon River, one of only a couple of places in the world that they can be seen. Small, specially designed river ships sail along the Peruvian section of the river where squirrel monkeys swing through the trees, sloths laze about in the branches and brightly coloured macaws squawk from the canopy. Passengers even have a chance to catch and eat the flesh-eating piranha.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Cruising

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Hilarious footage emerges of Sam Neill's James Bond screen test

<p dir="ltr"><em>Jurassic Park</em> star Sam Neill appeared on the <em>Today</em> show to discuss his career and new memoir 'Did I Ever Tell You This?' but the hosts had other plans.</p> <p dir="ltr">Karl Stefanovic, Sarah Abo and Brooke Boney managed to dig up an old screen test that left the 75-year-old red-faced.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Oh, my God, no - That is so cruel to play that, so cruel," a flustered Neil said, as footage from his <em>James Bond</em> audition started rolling.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the video, a young Neill armed with a gun and donning an unbuttoned shirt bursts into a bedroom-to the surprise of a naked woman- and says the famous line "My friends called me Bond, James Bond".</p> <p dir="ltr">Neill said he was thankful that he didn’t get the part and that someone else was chosen to do the role.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I felt so awkward all day that we made that thing and it just went on and on and on," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I am so relieved they offered it to someone else, they are welcome to it - you don't want to be the Bond that no-one likes, you know - that is a fate worse than death."</p> <p dir="ltr">Although he didn’t get the role of agent 007, the actor has starred in three of the J<em>urassic Park films, Event Horizon, The Dish and Peter Rabbit</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">He also told the <em>Today </em>show hosts that he never intended on becoming a professional actor and his success was completely unexpected.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I never really imagined I would have a career in film, let alone a career as an actor," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"At the rather advanced age of 30 I suddenly realised I could make a living at what I loved best and I never looked back until I wrote (the memoir) and it has been good to look back - it has been really good for me."</p> <p><em>Image: Today Show, Channel 9</em></p>

Movies

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Only in Florida! Woman's shocking find lurking in backyard pool

<p dir="ltr">Florida woman Lynn Tosi was not the only one who wanted to stay cool during the summer.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tosi came home to an unwanted guest: a 3.5 m alligator that had busted through her screened-in porch and was vibing in her pool.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just kind of circled around, not knowing what I was going to do next. I sure wasn’t going outside,” Tossi said.</p> <p dir="ltr">The crook-a-dile waddled through a nearby forest to try and find water, and struck gold when he found Tossi’s pool.</p> <p dir="ltr">Without a care in the world, the insti-gator left a large hole in Tosi’s screened-in porch.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He busted right through there, kind of like the Kool-Aid man, you know,” Tosi shared.</p> <p dir="ltr">As the weather gets warmer, Alligators are becoming increasingly active, and Tosi, who has learned from this wild encounter, encouraged all homeowners to double-check their pools and lakes before diving in.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The professional coming to take him out was actually pacing and got on the phone and was really surprised by what they were up against,” Tosi recalled.</p> <p dir="ltr">In another image, the Alligator can be seen restrained, and they were lucky it didn’t snap.</p> <p dir="ltr">This encounter is one of three reported in Valusia County over the last five days.</p> <p dir="ltr">Trappers have reminded residents that the alligators are most active at dusk and dawn.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Lynn Tosi, NBC, CNN</em></p>

Real Estate

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Ticked off trekker exposes family’s selfish act

<p>Australian bushwalkers are bristling at one family’s claim over an entire viewing platform in Victoria.</p> <p>A picture, shared to Reddit, shows a family - of at least four - taking over at Wilsons Promontory National Park with their set up. Camp chairs, bags, and meal trays can be seen around them, blocking access to the viewing point for anyone else who might like to enjoy what the park has to offer.</p> <p>The area - well known for its stunning vistas and bountiful wildlife - is a popular weekend retreat for tourists and locals alike, and Parks Victoria have revealed that it gets “extremely busy over summer”.</p> <p>“This family [is] taking up an entire sightseeing platform so nobody else can take photos,” the poster stated.</p> <p>“It’s a long weekend,” he continued below, “so Wilsons Promontory was very busy. A lot of people missed out on great photos and views because these people wanted it for themselves.”</p> <p>One had a simple, if not entirely beneficial solution, declaring that “confrontation is not always wrong.”</p> <p>“As I walked past, a guy said ‘that's just f***ing rude’,” the individual behind the post responded.</p> <p>“Especially in the case of entitled twats, I feel sorry for the kids though, they have parents who convince them shit like this is ok,” agreed another.</p> <p>“This park have rangers?” enquired one. “I'd be getting them to get those a***oles outta there.”</p> <p>“Despite being 2hrs from civilisation, it was packed because it's a long weekend here,” the original poster responded. “There's a huge campground nearby that was completely full.</p> <p>“But I didn't see any rangers all day, just a bus driver shuttling people up a mountain because the car park at the top would have been overflowing if everyone drove up.”</p> <p>Another shared their past experience with the spot, noting that they’d seen the same thing happen before, and that they’d just gone over and taken pictures anyway.</p> <p>“They then realised they were in the way,” they said of their encounter, “apologised, moved a little, and we had a chat about the weather. People do dumb s*** all the time without taking into consideration other people.”</p> <p>“I’m wondering this too if maybe they didn’t connect that it was a specific overlook platform at the time of the pic,” mused one responder.</p> <p>Meanwhile, another only had “never assume malice when stupidity will suffice” to say.</p> <p>Some, however, had a little more compassion for the family in the picture, writing that there were a lot of people “describing how they'd solve this problem. How about ‘excuse me, can I take some photos here?’ like a normal person?”</p> <p>“Exactly. I cringed. Like what if they just thought they stumbled upon the spot and were like ‘let’s picnic real quick’ and didn’t know people were going out of their way to find that spot or just that it’s a viewpoint spot,” another offered in agreement. “I have to sympathise, we’re all humans and hopefully it was not malicious. Just parents trying to have fun with their children?”</p> <p>“Duuuude, seriously,” one more wrote. “The ‘perpetrators’ might not even know [that] what they’re doing isn’t cool. It looks like they hiked out there and saw a decent spot to chill.”</p> <p><em>Images: Reddit</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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“You wouldn’t believe all I had to do to survive”: Man rescued after 31 days in the jungle

<p>A Bolivian man has survived 31 days in the Amazon jungle.</p> <p>Jhonattan Acosta, 30, was hunting in northern Bolivia when he was separated from his four friends.</p> <p>He told United TV he drank rainwater collected in his shoes and ate worms and insects while hiding from jaguars and peccaries, a type of pig-like mammal.</p> <p>Acosta was finally found by a search party made up of locals and friends a month after he went missing.</p> <p>“I can’t believe people kept up the search for so long,” he said in tears.</p> <p>“I ate worms, I ate insects, you wouldn’t believe all I had to do to survive all this time.”</p> <p>He also ate wild fruits similar to papayas, known locally as gargateas.</p> <p>“I thank God profusely, because he has given me a new life,” he said.</p> <p>His family said they will still have to string all the details together regarding how Acosta got lost and how he managed to stay alive but will ask him gradually as he is still psychologically damaged after the experience.</p> <p>There has also been significant physical changes. Acosta lost 17kg, dislocated his ankle and was severely dehydrated when he was found, but according to those who found him, he was still able to walk with a limp.</p> <p>“My brother told us that when he dislocated his ankle on the fourth day, he started fearing for his life,” Horacio Acosta told Bolivia’s Página Siete newspaper.</p> <p>“He only had one cartridge in his shotgun and couldn’t walk, and he thought no one would be looking for him anymore.”</p> <p>As for his encounters with wild animals in the jungle, including a jaguar, his younger brother said that his brother used his last cartridge to scare off a squadron of peccaries.</p> <p>After 31 days, Acosta spotted the search party about 300m away and limped through thorny bushes, shouting to draw attention to him.</p> <p>Acosta’s brother, Haracio, said that he was found by four local people.</p> <p>“A man came running to tell us they’d found my brother,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”</p> <p>Acosta has since decided to give up hunting for good.</p> <p>“He is going to play music to praise God,” Haracio said. “He promised God that, and I think he will keep his promise.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: BBC News</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Harry and Meghan break their silence on "boring and baseless" South Park episode

<p>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have broken their silence after being portrayed in an episode of <em>South Park</em>, in which they were ruthlessly mocked and ridiculed. </p> <p>The animated TV show released their newest episode, titled <em>The Worldwide Privacy Tour</em>, which depicted the royal couple embarking on a promotional tour for the Prince's new book titled "Waaaah". </p> <p>After the episode aired, reports emerged that Meghan Markle was left "upset and overwhelmed" by their merciless slating on the show, while a royal commentator speculated that the couple's lawyers were "casting an eye" over the cartoon series.</p> <p>Despite these claims, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has debunked rumours that they would be suing <em>South Park</em> over the episode, blasting the claims as "boring and baseless" in a statement given to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-prince-harry-meghan-markle-will-not-sue-south-park-lawsuit-1782414" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Newsweek</a>.</p> <p>The statement did not mention Harry and Meghan's personal feelings towards the episode, nor did it address claims that the couple's lawyers will be monitoring the show in order to see whether <em>South Park</em>'s creators launch any fresh attacks on the pair in the future.</p> <p>U.S. royal commentator Kristen Meinzer also told Newsweek that is was easy to see why the couple were not taking legal action. </p> <p>She said, "I highly doubt Meghan and Harry are suing a satirical cartoon that famously ridicules everyone."</p> <p>"If anything, they'll know they're in good company with other decent people who've been raked over the coals by the show."</p> <p>"For example, <em>South Park</em> has repeatedly ridiculed Al Gore and his efforts to combat climate change. They made fun of Steve Irwin for being killed by a stingray just a few weeks after his death."</p> <p>"They turned Rob Reiner into a punchline because of his weight. They've never been a bastion of good taste, and they've absolutely been offensive, but again, they're also a cartoon, not a news outlet—and Harry and Meghan are unlikely to take a cartoon to court."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

TV

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Take a walk on the wild side with the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards

<p>The People’s Choice Award winners of the 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards have been revealed, featuring stunning images of some of the world’s most majestic creatures. </p> <p>Competition for the coveted People’s Choice Award was fierce, with over 39,000 images submitted for consideration. 25 pictures were shortlisted from there, and a staggering 60,466 votes were received to crown the winner: German photographer Sascha Fonseca. </p> <p>Sascha’s image, titled “World of the snow leopard”, presents a snow leopard at sunset in Ladakh in northern India, with a breathtaking snow-covered mountain range backdrop. </p> <p>“Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm,” the image was captioned. “Sascha captured this image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. He has always been fascinated by snow leopards, not only because of their incredible stealth but also because of their remote environment, making them one of the most difficult large cats to photograph in the wild.”</p> <p>The winning images, selected for their “artistic composition, technical innovation, and truthful interpretation of the natural world”, boast not only a winner, but four other highly commended finalists as well. </p> <p>"This year’s record number of votes illustrates how wildlife photography can engage and inspire audiences with the wonder of nature,” said Director of the Natural History Museum Douglas Gurr.</p> <p>The other finalist feature a leopard with some unexpected cargo titled “Holding on” by Igor Altuna, a moment of “Fox affection” in the snow by Brittany Crossman, a polar bear basking in the sun “Among the flowers” by Martin Gregus, and a magnificent “Portrait of Olobor” the lion by Maasai Mara. </p> <p>The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, produced by the Natural History Museum, provides amateur and professional photographers from around the world with a global platform for their work. 2022 marked the 58th year of competition, and the 59th is currently being judged, with the 2023 winners to be announced in October. </p> <p><em>All image credits: Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards</em></p>

International Travel

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"You can’t park there, bro”: Perth valet smashes TWO lambos in costly mistake

<p>A valet driver at the Crown Hotel in Perth has found himself in hot water after smashing two Lamborghinis while trying to park one.</p> <p>The luxury vehicles belonged to billionaire Laurence Escalante and both were damaged after they collided in the hotel driveway, a spokesperson for Crown Perth said.</p> <p>Footage captured and shared by Jiu-Jitsu athlete Craig Jones shows the valet driver behind the wheel of a blue Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae, a car valued upward of $940,000, smashing into the rear of a purple Lamborghini.</p> <p>“Help! I’ve really f***ed it up.” The driver said in the footage before running out to assess the damage.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coa-BoPDhZS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coa-BoPDhZS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Craig Jones (@craigjonesbjj)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>In response to the crash, the driver claimed he was “trying to park it just like everybody else,” adding that the pedals were “too close together.” He then claimed he thought he was pressing the brake but instead hit the accelerator, causing him to crash into the rear of the purple Lamborghini.</p> <p>The owner of the luxury vehicles appeared to have witnessed the collision and could be heard questioning the driver.</p> <p>“What are you doing?” Jones said. "He moved it right in his rear ... you can’t park there, bro," he added.</p> <p>A spokesperson for Crown Resorts confirmed the accident is still under investigation, also informing the media there were “no injuries sustained.”</p> <p>"The safety of Crown’s team members and guests remains our priority," they said in a statement to News.com.au. "We are conducting a full assessment of the incident together with those involved.”</p> <p>The Crown is "working positively with us to fix the cars and put this behind us all,” a spokesperson for Mr Escalante told The West Australian. "We appreciate accidents happen and most importantly no one was injured," they said.</p> <p>A similar incident occurred in Sydney in 2018 when a valet driver parked a Porsche Carrera underneath another vehicle. As the driver attempted to park the Porsche, the car reportedly accelerated and ended up under a Sports utility vehicle (SUV).</p> <p>Police were notified and had to cut the driver, who was left unharmed, out of the vehicle.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram / @craigjonesbjj</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Hilarious winners of the worldwide 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

<p>The winners of the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced, with some hilarious photos capturing astounding moments of the most adorable animals. </p> <p>An image of a three-month-old lion cub falling out of a tree has been named the overall winner of this year's competition, with Jennifer Hadley in the Serengeti, Tanzania, capturing the moment late one afternoon. </p> <p>"It didn't even occur to me that he would make a go of getting down by himself in the most un-cat like fashion. I mean, how often do cats fall out of trees?" Hadley said in a press release.</p> <p>"No one expected this to happen and of course we were concerned for his safety but happily as cats do, he righted himself just in time and landed on all fours and ran off with his siblings. A happy ending for a hapless kitty who didn't quite know how to get down from a tree." </p> <p>Hadley also won the People's Choice Award for her photo of a dismissive penguin seemingly snubbing his friend, which was titled <em>Talk to the Fin</em>. </p> <p><em>All image credits: Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2022</em></p>

International Travel

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