Storms turn Port Phillip Bay into marine graveyard

A LIVE and lethal tiger snake and floundering freshwater turtles have joined dead penguins, a wallaby and fish washed up on Melbourne's beaches after Victoria's storms.

Summer deluges have been blamed for killing many forms of marine life as well as flushing land-based animals into Port Phillip Bay.

A live tiger snake was plucked from the sand at Williamstown beach, dead penguins have washed up at Altona and Port Melbourne while dead fish are floating off Elwood.

At Sandridge beach, which is closest to the mouth of the Yarra River and has been closed since Christmas, lifesavers have been collecting rubbish.

As well as contaminating and killing animals in and around waterways, the deluges have caused beaches to be closed and summer sporting and recreational events to be scuttled.

SuperSprint Gatorade Triathlon Series organisers said it had been a "major disappointment" they were forced to cancel the swimming leg of their competitions at St Kilda in November and again in December after EPA reports ruled the quality of the water unsafe to swim in.

"It was ridiculously disappointing for 2000 participants at both events who had to complete a running leg instead because of the quality of the water," said event marketing manager, Pierre Meneaud.

Ironically, the Dolphin Research Institute has again had to cancel its "i sea, i care" campaign, its biggest program of the year that highlights the bay's health.

Director Jeff Weir said the type of pollution pouring into the bay - silt, sediment, toxins, and household and garden chemicals - threatened its future.

"The bay is a living breathing biological filter and all the different invertebrates living on the seabed plus the seagrasses are helping keep it clean," Mr Weir said.

"But silt and sediment and toxins and debris are all smothering that natural filtering system."

Contaminated rivers and creeks pouring into the bay along with the run-off from hundreds of storm water drains should be a wake-up call to Victorians about the vulnerable state of the jewel in Victoria's crown, he said.

The EPA beach report on 36 bay sites yesterday listed 22 as poor and not suitable for swimming and 14 as fair. Not one was good.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/summer-deluges-leave-port-phillip-bay-filthy/story-e6frfq80-1226239587847#ixzz1j3nXh0kD

Yakini The Gorilla Goes To The Doctor (PHOTOS)

He wasn't 800 pounds, but medical experts at the Melbourne Zoo recently found themselves with a gorilla in the room.

Yakini, who reportedly weighs close to 245 pounds, received a check-up from vets on Oct. 28.
Animal experts sedated the 12-year-old ape and gave him a thorough examination -- even clipping his nails -- before moving him to a new exhibit at the Werribee Open Range Zoo, near Melbourne.
This isn't Yakini's first trip to the doctor.

When the infant ape was birthed by Caesarean section in November, 1999, he wasn't breathing and his heart was hardly beating, according to The Daily Mail.

Placed under close watch by veterinarians, Yakini managed to pull through, capturing the world's attention in the process.

The gorilla matured into a popular fixture in his enclosure in the Melbourne Zoo -- but he might be best known for the time he spent outside of it.

In 2009, Yakini climbed out of his enclosure using a palm frond and briefly escaped. He strolled around the zoo while officials herded visitors into a gift shop to keep them safe, according to The Courier Mail.

Zookeepers reportedly shot Yakini with a tranquilizer and returned him to his enclosure.
In his latest move, Yakini won't be alone. His half-brother, Ganyeka, and his silverback father, Motaba, were also shipped in crates by truck to their new enclosure, which opens to the public on Nov. 7.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/yakini-the-gorilla-goes-to-the-doctor_n_1072253.html?ref=weird-news