Rabbits, one of the most hated animals in Australia. Why? You might ask, well for starters rabbits eat a lot and most of what they eat is farmer’s crops. Rabbits were introduced by European settlers for hunting but soon there was too many rabbits to handle. Now many people hunt rabbits and in many different ways such as poisoned baits, ripping up burrows and the most exiting way blowing up the burrows.

The rabbit problem eventually became so severe that scientists invented a virus called myxomatoses to kill rabbits, but soon after rabbits became immune to myxomatoses so they invented a new one called the calicivirus that too was effective but the rabbits also became immune to that. Some schools are getting their student to look for signs of rabbits in their area such as broken branches burrows and even poo!

Maybe we can find a way to stop rabbits eating our crops without killing all the rabbits

Jarrad F

a Breed of dogs known as Maremmas have been protecting livestock for a while now but their new job is a bit different. Some Maremmas are watching over little penguins patrolling the beach for predators such as foxes.

The Maremmas are mostly used to protect chickens and are much cheaper to buy and look after than to fence areas. Maremmas have been body guard dogs for hundreds of years therefore are really good. They protect livestock by chasing predators but also are helpful by using their scent if the area smells doggy foxes are more likely to stay away. 30 years ago 1000 penguins used to burrow at Middle Island but by the late nineties that number was halved.

The penguins are doing better now though already this year researchers have seen 80 penguins arrive and 26 chicks have been born still not as good as they could be experts are doing their best to help the penguins so that one day they can be as numerous as they once were.

Jarrad F

                The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Pakistan and Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana were hospitalised. Captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Suranka Lakmal and Chaminda Vaas suffered lesser injuries and five police were killed. Some experts say that there could be no more international cricket in Pakistan.

                 Gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team on the way to the 3rd day in the first test in Lahore. Unsurprisingly the rest of the test series was abandoned. This is stated to be an organised terrorist attack. Several teams have recently refused to tour Pakistan due to security concerns and last year’s ICC Champions Trophy was postponed over similar worries. Sri Lanka were only in Pakistan after India had been barred by the Indian government from touring the country following the Mumbai terror attacks last November.

There has been suggestions that the terrorists came from Sri Lanka as there is fighting there between the Sinhalas and the Tamils. The Tamils are fighting for a separate state because they do not like the Sri Lankan government. The Pakisani government promises to find out who is behind this terrorist attack and bring them to justice. Pakitsan may not co-host the world cup in 2011for some countries believe it is too big a risk. Pakistan will still play cricket but not in their home country, however, they are due to play Australia soon but the game will be moved to a neutral country in the middle east.

           I am sure cricket will return to Pakistan one day and I hope the Sri Lankan cricket team will recover quickly. 

Jarrad F

                    Orang-utans are not much different to us, in fact Orang-utan means person of the forest. They live in forests on islands in south Asia called Sumatra and Borneo where they spend most of the time in trees. They eat lots of fruit, leaves, bark and insects, but there are some Orang-utans that don’t live with their mums. They are at a “jungle day care” so one day they can return o the wild, and i suppose your wondering why they are there in the first place

                     The Forests on Sumatra and Borneo are being demolished for timber and is being cleared for palm oil plantations, palm oil is used for heaps of things like shampoo and snacks. The Orang-utans have lost millions of hectares to bulldozers. Some Orang-utans ore killed by Plantation workers and their babies end up at the jungle day care. Sadly now Orang-utans are threatened with extinction the Orang-utan population has dropped 35% in the last 20 years. The good news is that researchers say that Orang-utans can survive in damaged forests as long as there is significant food and trees to support them. The problem is that palm oil makes good money but a balance must be reached between life and money

                 I hope the Orang-utans get their fair share of the forest

Jarrad F