Tag Archives: oceania

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Hero dog dies nearly a month after terrifying attack

A hero dog that saved her owner from a mountain lion in California last month has died after her condition suddenly deteriorated.

Erin Wilson took to Instagram to announce her beloved Belgian shepherd, Eva, died yesterday morning at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The two-and-a-half-year-old dog was rushed to the vets after she began panting, while there she suffered seizures and slipped into a coma.

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The brave dog made headlines in May when she saved her owner from a mountain lion.

"We said goodbye at 9:20 this morning. There were no changes to her condition overnight," Wilson said on the social media platform.

"Goodbye my beautiful sweet girl. You are my world, my light, my best friend."

Wilson has been posting tributes to her pet, revealing she got Eva in the last weeks of March 2020 as COVID-19 started spreading around the world.

She was "rock-obsessed" and loved cuddles.

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Eva had started going for walks again and was 'enjoying fresh air' before she passed.Eva loved cuddles and was obsessed with rocks.

"Our favorite game was let's see how big a rock Eva can move. She was so incredibly strong in her shoulders, she would drag rocks around backwards," she wrote.

Eva sustained serious injuries battling a mountain lion who attacked Wilson near the Trinity River in northern California, on May 16.

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The attack happened near the Trinity River

The predator lunged at Wilson, who was walking ahead of Eva, and scratched her shoulder.

Eva came bounding to Wilson's defence.

The pair started fighting, but Eva weighed only 25 kilograms and was outclassed by the big cat.

The mountain lion bit the dog's head and wouldn't let go, even when Wilson hit it with sticks, rocks and her fists.

Cougar mountain lion

In desperation Wilson ran to her car to grab a tire iron and flagged down a passing car.

The driver of that car rushed to help and sprayed the mountain lion with pepper spray, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

"(She) sprayed the lion in the face with little to no effect," they said in a statement.

"The mountain lion was attempting to move off the trail and drag the dog to a different location.

"The woman and the passerby eventually retrieved a piece of PVC pipe and began hitting the mountain lion with it until it finally released the dog".

Eva was rushed to the vets with skull fractures and deep lacerations.

'Eva' is pictured napping during her recovery. The belgian malinois sustained skull fractures and punctured sinuses after the mountain lion latched onto her head.

She had been slowly recovering and was once again enjoying walks, when her condition took a turn for the worst.

Following the attack, wildlife officers collected DNA samples from Eva's wounds and said they would try and trap the cougar, adding they would "further evaluate the situation if it is caught."

Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare but animals responsible are usually killed if they are caught.

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Petrol prices through the roof and unlikely to come down soon

Petrol prices around the country are through the roof in a worrying sign of what's to come for motorists.

One service station in Brisbane reached $2.24 a litre for unleaded yesterday – 3c/L more than Queensland's previous high in March.

And the pain is being felt around the country.

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Sydney prices have reached $2.26/L, while Melbourne and Adelaide have both matched Brisbane's highs of $2.24/L.

Industry experts fear things won't improve any time soon.

Prices are expected to rise further through the current cycle.

And the fuel excise coming to an end in September will compound the hit to the wallet.

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In the short term, the long weekend in some states and territories is expected to push prices up further in coming days.

The federal government had previously ruled out extending the excise cut, but has pledged other cost of living relief measures.

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How 'superworms' could solve Australia's plastic crisis

A species of "superworm" native to South and Central America could be the key to solving Australia's plastic waste crisis, a new study suggests.

According to the CSIRO, Australians consume one million tonnes of single use plastic each year – just 12 per cent of this is recycled.

But researchers at the University of Queensland have made a surprising discovery after feeding the common Zophobas morio superworm a diet of polystyrene, one which could change the process of recycling forever.

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The common Zophobas morio 'superworm' can eat through polystyrene.

The results of the study, published today in the journal Microbial Genomics, found the insects could not only eat through polystyrene thanks to a bacterial enzyme in their gut, but they also put on weight and thrived.

"That's a hint they can get energy from the polystyrene," lead author Dr Chris Rinke told 9news.com.au, adding the insects appeared unharmed by the plastic.

"Superworms can survive on plastic… even after eating polystyrene they went through their entire lifecycle," Rinke said.

"They're like mini recycling plants."

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The zophobas morio superworm is actually a species of darkling beetle native to South and Central America.

For three weeks researchers fed three groups of the worms different diets. Some got bran flakes, others chowed down on plastic, while one unlucky group got nothing.

The group given a diet of plastic would shred the polystyrene before "feeding it to the bacteria in their gut".

It's hoped that down the line the "breakdown products" from this process could help form high-value compounds such as bioplastic, a type of biodegradable plastic derived from biological substances.

"Our next step will be to really categorise those enzymes in more detail," Rinke said, explaining an "enzyme cocktail" could also be created in time to help plastic degrade.

"We want to know exactly how they work, and maybe even optimise them to make them work faster."

It's hoped such innovations would help incentivise more recycling, while also decreasing landfill.

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So, what exactly are 'super worms'

Zophobas morio superworms are actually a species of darkling beetle native to South and Central America.

Their worm-like form is actually their "larvae" stage. They can reach lengths of up to five centimetres.

Adult darkling beetles will live from three to four months.

"They're eggs for about a week or so then they hatch. Then the larvae grow and they have to molt, this takes about five to six months," Rinke explained.

"Then they become a pupa, that takes a few weeks. Once the beetle has emerged it can live up to half a year."

The insects are not found in the wilds of Australia, instead they are bred or imported to our shores, most commonly as pet food for species like reptiles.

However, Rinke admitted he has also found them sold for human consumption, "oven-baked and covered in chocolate".

"They are very nutritious," he said.

"They're similar to the mealworm but bigger, I think that's how they got the name 'superworm'".