عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Sydney New Year's Fireworks Threatened with Cancellation

Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
TT
TT

Sydney New Year's Fireworks Threatened with Cancellation

Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

Sydney New Year's fireworks, one of the world's most spectacular celebrations of the calendar change, face being scrapped because of industrial action by train workers, police said Friday.

Up to 250,000 people are expected to come into Sydney to see the show, and they need to return home afterwards, said New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb.

"If trains are not available and people cannot leave the city, I have very large concerns of the risk that will create to the public," she told reporters.

"So I have not ruled out that we will recommend to the government that we cancel the fireworks."

The state's premier, Chris Minns, has rejected unions' "exorbitant" pay rise demands, with a hearing scheduled next week in the country's industrial relations tribunal.

According to AFP, the state rail, tram and bus union's secretary, Toby Warnes, said it had no plan to inconvenience people, accusing the state government of "scaring the people of New South Wales because it wants to pursue a particular industrial strategy.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
TT
TT

Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.
That's the startling finding of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of Ethology -- the first to document widespread carnivorous behavior in these seemingly innocent creatures.
"There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us," lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire told AFP.
"In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards."
The observations were made this summer, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behavior.
"I could barely believe my eyes," said Wild. But "once we started looking, we saw it everywhere."
It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether this behavior stemmed from scavenging or active predation.
The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behavior.
Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.
The study also found that the squirrels' carnivorous behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes, and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.
"In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and climate change impose on animals," said Smith.
"Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess."
Several questions still remain unanswered.
Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behavior is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems.