Natural world
Explainer
Animals
Clever birds and killer bots: What to know about swarm intelligence
Birds, bees and ants all co-operate to solve problems with no one in charge. Here’s what humans are learning from them.
- by Angus Holland and Jackson Graham
Latest
Opinion
Comedy
My new favourite place to go - and the fun is free
Where else might you see tiny people taking their first steps, young people having their first kiss and old people just happy to be out and about?
- by Thomas Mitchell
‘Tears of happiness at the sight of you’: Our love affair with urban trees
New research demonstrates the deep personal connections people forge with the urban environment around them, particularly city trees.
- by Bianca Hall
Councils race against climate clock to save heritage trees
Councils across the state are adopting new tree management policies to save old trees from destruction and increase tree coverage, as they respond locally to rapidly increasing urban heat.
- by Anthony Segaert
Months alone and a 50-kilo pack: The Murray Fredericks guide to photography
There’s landscape, and then there’s a Murray Fredericks landscape – and the story of how he got there is on display in a major retrospective.
- by Karl Quinn
Firefighters on edge as weather phenomenon threatens WA
Fears of lightning storms in air so hot that it evaporates rain have firefighter strike teams and water bombers on standby, preparing for a nightmare week.
- by Sarah Brookes
Branching out: West Australian cattle station launches ‘dingo tours’
When a Victorian sanctuary asked these two West Australian farmers for help, they knew they were right for the job. But there was a challenging road ahead.
- by Emma Young
Exclusive
Local council
What actually happens if you chop down that verge tree? Well, it depends where you live
Whether you get a warning or a $10,000 fine for interfering with your local suburban streetscape might depend on little more than luck in Perth.
- by Heather McNeill
Perspective
City life
Yes, Brissie backyards come with snakes. Removing them creates another risk
There’s a perception that snakes don’t belong in urban environments and that, if spotted, need to be relocated. Should we rethink that?
- by Courtney Kruk
Underwater cyclones off Sydney are giant floating laboratory’s next mission
Massive heated whirlpools that occur off the Australian coast are the focus of a fascinating new multimillion-dollar mission.
- by Angus Dalton
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/natural-world-6g6i