Veronika Wild

  This memorial to Australian War Dogs is on a quiet corner of the Derwent in Hobart I didn't write anything this ANZAC day - our commemorative day for the War Dead, this year, but the other day while walking along the river with a friend and her dog, I came across a touching memorial for the dogs used by Australian soldiers in wartime and I thought they and the other animals which also served - whether they wanted to or not, deserved a mention too. Dogs particularly, served in numerous roles. Here are some of their stories along with those of some of our other furred, feathered and even finned brothers (and sisters) in arms.   World War I  Rescue Dogs Dogs have been used to rescue wounded soldiers since the late C19th when one Jean Burgartz, a German, began training 'mercy dogs' (Sanitätshunde) to go into battlefields seek out wounded soldiers, bring first aid supplies and comfort the dying. If their wounds were too severe, they would take back a piece of the...

  The Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity THE ARCTIC Polar Bears Who can forget the widely circulated image of a polar bear trapped on an icefloe with neither prey nor land, nor even another ice floe in sight. Although Polar Bears can swim short distances, it takes five times as much energy as simply shuffling across the ice. Although polar bear numbers have improved in some regions – largely as a result of the ban on unregulated hunting in the 1970s, numbers generally are either  static or in decline. For the most part, shorter winters and warmer summers mean a shorter hunting season and poor condition which in turn leads to lower reproductive success. Some Polar Bears have taken to scavenging in settlements in order to get enough food. Ringed Seals which are staple of the Polar Bear’s diet, are also facing threats due to climate change and sea ice loss because they depend on sea ice for resting, breeding, and pupping in snow dens on the ice. Shrinking and th...