A group of New Zealand
researchers recently
found a functioning USB
stick containing a series
of photos lodgedinside a
frozen slabof seal poop.
The stool specimen had
beenstoredin a freezerfor
oneyearbeforescientists
from the National
Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research
(NIWA) defrosted it to
studythehealthof theleopardseal.TheUSBincludedimages
of sea lionsat PorpoiseBay,nearWaikawa,withtheowner
being revealedas Amanda Nally, a volunteerbeach walker
withthe NewZealandSeaLionTrust.ExactlyhowtheUSB
stickendedupin thesealdungis a mysterywiththeNIWA
describingit as beingsurroundedbyfeathersandbirdbones.
Nallyspeculatedthat“itmayhavebeenaccidentallydropped
byme,thenpickedupbya seabird,whichwasin turneaten
bya leopardseal.”
On approach to Lyn John’s
Sydney home, screeches,
whistles and tweets get
louder and louder with each
step. As a foster mother to
60 birds, Lyn’s residence
features a back patio lined
with large animal enclosures,
as well as, two rooms that
have been transformed into
aviaries. Six years ago, Lyn
launched her bird foster
service and currently works
alongside 12 other carers
across Sydney. Some of the
bird breeds staying with Lyn
include a love bird, cockatoos,
galahs, lorikeets, Indian ring-
necks and a rare, endangered
Amazon, named Lola. As a
feather fosterer, Lyn’s day
begins at five-thirty in the
morning cleaning the cages
and feeding her friends a
“gourmet” mix of sweet
potato, kale, bok choy, carrot,
cauliflower, red cabbage, chia,
quinoa, rolled oats, capsicum
and squash. Lyn cares for
each bird for one year before
beginning the re-homing
process.Queensland farmer, Terry
O’Leary,hasbeenchampioning
for watermelons to become
an alternative feature to
Australianbarbecues.O’Leary
was inspired after watching a
video on social media where
“in North America people
were spending up to $75 for
a watermelon ham.” Recently,
at the local Chinchilla
Watermelon Festival, O’Leary
embraced the opportunity
to showcase the smoked
watermelon delicacy. But
how!? To prepare the
watermelon ham, the
farmer first skins the fruit
and soaks it for three days
in salty water along with
cumin and coriander seeds.
The watermelon is scored
on top to give it a ham look
before smoking it for
almost a day. O’Leary
recommended baking
the watermelon after
the smoking process to
ensure it cooks through
and said, “The saltiness,
the sweetness and the
smokiness go really well
together... It’s very soft
and melts in your mouth.”SEALDUNGDISCOVERY
✸Ham!✸
FEATHERFOSTERER
WATERMELON
WIN
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