Australia

Estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 individuals, the koala population is the largest and healthiest in the state of Victoria, and second only in size to that of Kangaroo Island in the whole country.

This Island Is Inhabited by More Koalas Than Humans

Australia’s French Island is home to one of the country’s largest and healthiest koala populations, but it’s not impervious to the species’ struggles

Ranchers and landowners consider dingoes pests, while conservationists say they are vitally important to Australia's ecosystem.

Ancient DNA Unravels the Mysteries of the Dingo, Australia's Wild Dog

Researchers dove into thousands of years of evolutionary history, revealing new insights about the iconic, though sometimes vilified, canines

Ritual sticks, between 11,000 and 12,000 years old, were discovered in Cloggs Cave.

Sticks Discovered in Australian Cave Shed New Light on an Aboriginal Ritual Passed Down for 12,000 Years

Both Western analyses and traditional Aboriginal knowledge helped the research team learn about a cultural practice dating to the last ice age

An 18th-century illustration of a jury of matrons

How All-Female 'Juries of Matrons' Shaped Legal History

Courts called on these jurors to determine whether women sentenced to death were pregnant or faking it to avoid execution

The "wombat walker" will "coax [the wombats] out of bed to get them moving" and "[motivate] them to complete their morning walks."

Tasmania Is Hiring for a 'Wombat Walker' and Other Odd Jobs

The Australian island state is trying to drum up tourism during the Southern Hemisphere's winter

Newly examined fossils suggest monotremes—egg-laying mammals—were once much more abundant in Australia than they are today.

Meet the 'Echidnapus,' an Extinct Creature That Resembles Both the Echidna and Platypus of Today

The species is among three newly identified monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, discovered from fossils in Australia that are shedding light on the odd animals' evolution

Wombats are stocky marsupials that can weigh up to 85 pounds.

Don't Call Wombats Heroes, but Their Burrows Do Provide Food, Water and Shelter for Other Animals

During Australia’s devastating bushfires in 2019 and 2020, misinformation spread about wombats welcoming animals into their underground homes—but a new study finds a kernel of truth in the viral story

Sue O'Connor (left) and Shimona Kealy (right) study some of the artifacts found in Timor-Leste, which offer clues that early humans took a more northern path from Southeast Asia to Australia tens of thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists Discover Clues to Ancient Migration Route That Brought Humans to Australia

New research offers evidence that humans did not inhabit the island of Timor until around 44,000 years ago, suggesting it was not part of the original migration route from Southeast Asia to Australia

The fossilized remains include the most intact skull of the bird to be discovered, which helps scientists to better understand the bird's behavior, appearance and evolution.

Paleontologists Uncover Rare Skull of 500-Pound 'Thunder Bird' in Australia

The most complete skull of the extinct, flightless bird ever found has revealed adaptations that might have made the creature well-adapted for a life near water

View of Jiigurru, where the pottery fragments were found

Oldest Known Aboriginal Pottery Discovered in Australia

Found on the island of Jiigurru, the 82 shards predate the arrival of Europeans by centuries, dating to between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago

Baobab trees can reach 100 feet tall, and they support entire ecosystems and communities with their large structures and natural resources.

Scientists Uncover the Ancient Origins of Baobab Trees in Genetic Study

The trees originated in Madagascar 21 million years ago but later traveled long distances by way of ocean currents, according to new research

Wig Shoes, Chunxiao Qu, 2017

These Artworks Explore the Cultural Significance of Hair

A new exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art in Australia examines what hair says about identity, gender, social status and more

The mummified head, reconstructed by a forensic sculptor, belonged to a woman who lived in Egypt during the region's Greco-Roman period, between 332 B.C.E. and 395 C.E.

See the Reconstructed Face of a Mummy Stored in a High School Library Since 1915

A forensic artist hopes the sculpture will help humanize the mummy, which appeared at Australia's Grafton High School under mysterious circumstances

The wreck of the Isabella and Newton Providence camp, as shown in Charles Barnard's narrative of his experiences in the Falklands, 1829

Why the Wartime Rescue of the Survivors of a British Shipwreck Ended in Betrayal

In 1813, an American sealing vessel, the "Nanina," promised to save the crew and passengers of the "Isabella," even though it was an enemy ship. Here’s how the British brig got stranded in the first place

The Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney is home to Australia's largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Australian Museum Removes Mummified Body Parts From Display

"We have become so accustomed to seeing them on show that we often forget they once belonged to living people," says Melanie Pitkin, a senior curator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney

160 pilot whales, mainly adult females with several young calves, stranded themsleves in shallow waters on Thursday morning in Western Australia.

Rescuers Save 130 Beached Pilot Whales in Western Australia After Mass Stranding

An additional 29 whales died, officials reported last week, while the reason behind the stranding remains unknown

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Tweak the Recipe of This Australian Biscuit, and You Can Get a Hefty Fine or Even Jail Time

On April 25, a national holiday called Anzac Day, Aussies enjoy an Anzac biscuit in honor of military veterans

A hawksbill sea turtle munches away on a sponge near Juno Beach.

Journey Under the Sea With 15 Amazing Photos of Marine Life

These Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest images feature the captivating creatures that live beneath the waves

Bleached corals in the Great Barrier Reef during a previous mass bleaching event.

The World's Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Is Underway—and It Could Become the Worst One Yet

The impacted reefs represent 54 percent of the planet's total, and that figure is currently increasing by 1 percent each week, NOAA scientists say

Rangers look for tiny footprints in the sand and dig trenches to find the moles, which spend most of their lives underground.

Tiny and Rare, a Blind Mole That 'Swims' Through Desert Sand Is Spotted in Australia

Typically seen just five to ten times per decade, the elusive species has now been found for the second time in six months

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