Environment
Conservation
A dog was off leash on a Sydney beach. A little penguin paid the price
Manly has the only breeding colony of fairy penguins on mainland NSW. The population has plummeted from 70 pairs in 2013-2014 to 15 pairs in 2024-2025.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Latest
‘Skeletal’ seal seeks respite in the Cooks River
It’s the same species as the healthy seals that frequently sun themselves on the VIP stairs at the Sydney Opera House.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Fees up and quad bikes in: New plans for NSW national parks
As a fight brews about the cost of supported camping in NSW national parks, an updated government document reveals commercial motorbike tours and quad biking could be allowed in hundreds of parks across the state.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Hayley’s team took in 12 endangered turtles. Then the hard work began
Understanding the romantic life of Manning River turtles led to the first successful breeding of the reptiles in captivity and a release of the next generation into the wild Barrington River.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Young entangled humpback whale leads rescuers on multi-state rescue mission
Authorities are in a race against time to find a juvenile humpback whale spotted multiple times along the NSW and Victorian coasts, which is entangled in ropes.
- by Bianca Hall
Dozens more plants and animals added to Australia’s endangered lists
The list now includes a charismatic possum, a flightless fly and a glossy skink.
- by Bianca Hall
Exclusive
Biodiversity
‘On extinction path’: Land clearing laws failing native species
An area of high-biodiversity land in NSW equivalent to four Sydney Harbours was cleared between 2016 and 2023, new research says.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The Sydney suburbs where developers are killing the most wildlife
The NSW licensing system for harming wildlife is causing “inexcusable harm” as one native animal is legally killed every minute, a parliamentary inquiry heard.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
This beach was crowned Australia’s best. Is it being ‘loved to death’?
An increasing number of Australian natural wonders have become so popular, so rapidly, authorities are being forced to consider limiting public access to them.
- by Bianca Hall
Exclusive
Wildlife
NSW launched a review of wildlife care in 2024. Now the results are in
A $9 million package aims to fix systemic problems including volunteer burnout and poor organisational culture in the struggling sector.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Drinks delivered for dingoes in bushfire-ravaged national park
Authorities have installed temporary water stations amid concerns that fires that tore through the Mallee are driving parched dingoes onto private farms.
- by Bianca Hall