https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/australia-1/RSS feed for AustraliaenFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-humpback-whale-mom-stayed-with-her-stillborn-calf-repeatedly-touchingi-it-and-staring-into-its-eyes-was-she-grieving-180989516/Observed last year off the coast of Queensland, Australia, this event marks the first documentation of a stillbirth in the species, providing a rare glimpse at how the highly social animals respond to deathFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-humpback-whale-mom-stayed-with-her-stillborn-calf-repeatedly-touchingi-it-and-staring-into-its-eyes-was-she-grieving-180989516/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tasmanian-devils-lived-alongside-humans-in-northwestern-australia-as-far-back-as-45000-years-ago-researchers-find-180989503/Fossils and marked bones unearthed in a Juukan Gorge cave suggest that the marsupial species not only once lived in the region but may have been a “garbage compactor on four legs” for its human populationWed, 16 Sep 2026 13:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tasmanian-devils-lived-alongside-humans-in-northwestern-australia-as-far-back-as-45000-years-ago-researchers-find-180989503/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-second-smallest-rock-wallaby-reappears-in-a-region-where-it-had-not-been-seen-for-50-years-180989469/The endangered nabarlek is not easy to find and difficult to distinguish from similar species. But a research team made new detections of the animals that offer “good news for their long-term survival”Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:00:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-second-smallest-rock-wallaby-reappears-in-a-region-where-it-had-not-been-seen-for-50-years-180989469/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-tasmanian-tiger-was-branded-a-livestock-killer-new-research-challenges-that-myth-180989473/Thylacines had powerful snapping bites suited for catching small and medium-sized prey like bandicoots—not taking down large animals such as sheep and cattle, as European colonists fearedThu, 10 Sep 2026 17:43:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-tasmanian-tiger-was-branded-a-livestock-killer-new-research-challenges-that-myth-180989473/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-newly-discovered-fuzzy-fish-species-named-after-mr-snuffleupagus-from-sesame-street-180988774/The ghost pipefish's scruffy appearance probably helps it look like floating algae, allowing it to blend in with its environment. Researchers had been on the hunt for this strange creature for years after first spotting one more than two decades agoMon, 31 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-newly-discovered-fuzzy-fish-species-named-after-mr-snuffleupagus-from-sesame-street-180988774/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historical-pollution-not-current-industrial-emissions-damaged-worlds-largest-oldest-collection-ancient-rock-art-180989416/Researchers say that past exposure to sulfur dioxide is likely to blame for the increased porosity of the Murujuga rock art created by the Ngarda-Ngarli people tens of thousands of years agoFri, 28 Aug 2026 18:04:36 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/historical-pollution-not-current-industrial-emissions-damaged-worlds-largest-oldest-collection-ancient-rock-art-180989416/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tennis-matches-are-heating-up-literally-heres-how-the-court-became-a-living-laboratory-for-managing-extreme-temperatures-180989399/The sport’s hard-court surfaces can reach some 30 degrees hotter than the surrounding air. With elite players suffering heat illness on the world stage, athletes are following personalized cooling plansThu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tennis-matches-are-heating-up-literally-heres-how-the-court-became-a-living-laboratory-for-managing-extreme-temperatures-180989399/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/australias-social-media-ban-for-teens-may-not-be-the-best-solution-but-its-certainly-getting-people-talking-180989355/The Aussie experiment comes amid a lack of clear evidence that the apps harm most adolescents. It may take a dramatic research pivot to finally reveal what’s going on and how to fix it.Mon, 17 Aug 2026 19:15:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/australias-social-media-ban-for-teens-may-not-be-the-best-solution-but-its-certainly-getting-people-talking-180989355/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/A new study suggest that even strange, complex animal behaviors can have a relatively simple genetic basisFri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-library-book-was-150-years-overdue-fortunately-for-the-man-who-just-returned-it-librarians-wont-be-enforcing-a-20000-late-fee-180989339/"The Antiquities of Athens" had likely been missing from an Australian library since the 1870s. Staffers say its recovery is "an unlikely story of survival (of the book) and redemption (of the borrower)"Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-library-book-was-150-years-overdue-fortunately-for-the-man-who-just-returned-it-librarians-wont-be-enforcing-a-20000-late-fee-180989339/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-has-history-forgotten-world-war-iis-largest-prison-break-which-claimed-the-lives-of-more-than-200-japanese-pows-180989246/During the 1944 Cowra breakout, over 900 prisoners attempted to escape from an Allied camp in Australia. The uprising resulted in the deaths of 234 Japanese men and 5 AustraliansWed, 05 Aug 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-has-history-forgotten-world-war-iis-largest-prison-break-which-claimed-the-lives-of-more-than-200-japanese-pows-180989246/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-fossil-reveals-a-three-tier-food-chain-frozen-in-time-a-pterosaur-eaten-by-an-ichthyosaur-eaten-by-a-pliosaur-180989243/Uncovered in part by amateur fossil hunters in Australia, the fossil preserves a unique look at prehistoric predatory dynamicsFri, 31 Jul 2026 18:40:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-fossil-reveals-a-three-tier-food-chain-frozen-in-time-a-pterosaur-eaten-by-an-ichthyosaur-eaten-by-a-pliosaur-180989243/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/When the Dutch East India Company’s flagship "Batavia" sank in 1629, it went down with large, carved sandstone blocks in its hold. The stones are now shedding light on trade at the dawn of global capitalismThu, 30 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australias-most-notorious-shipwreck-tells-a-story-of-murder-slavery-mutiny-and-now-surprisingly-sophisticated-trade-in-the-17th-century-180989227/