Aussie Surfer Saves Skippy the 'Roo From Jaws

Surf etiquette signs posted to defuse conflicts

(NEWSER) - Sydney is taking steps to defuse the growing number of "surf rage" incidents at beaches shared by beginners and life-long surfers. Signs are going up at popular beaches warning newbies to follow surf etiquette by not "dropping in"—catching a wave claimed by somebody else—or "snaking a wave," which is a sneakier version of the drop-in. More»

Decoding could lead to new antibiotics, hope for wombats

(NEWSER) - What makes the kangaroo hop? That’s just one of the questions answered by international researchers who’ve decoded the genome of a kangaroo species, the BBC reports. The genome research team—the first to be led by Australian scientists—sequenced the genome in 2008 but finally completed its analysis of it and published those findings last week. "It's been a huge project," says one scientist. "I'm from Australia and it was going on when I was an undergraduate there 10 years ago." More»

Broom-wielding Outback woman fights off attacking roo

(NEWSER) - The Australian Outback is home to millions of kangaroos—and some very tough old ladies. Phyllis Johnson, 94, is recovering in a local hospital after being attacked by a fully grown red kangaroo as she was hanging up her washing. The animal rained down kicks before she managed to fight it off with a broom and escape into her home. Police had to pepper spray the animal twice before it could be captured. More»

Converted vegetarians love the taste of free-roaming kangaroos

(NEWSER) - Some Australian vegetarians have embraced the “ethical and environmental” acceptability of kangaroo meat and are now “kangatarians.” The name was “a bit of a joke initially,” an advocate tells the Telegraph , but the phenomenon is real. Kangaroos run wild, eat naturally, are killed humanely, and emit far less methane than cows. So, eat up! More»

(NEWSER) - A Mexican surfer off a California beach was busted for trying to smuggle 24 pounds of pot on his board, reports the Los Angeles Times. When suspicious cops on the beach close to the Mexican border ordered the surfer to come ashore, he heaved a duffel bag into the water. It later washed up, packed with pot bricks worth $74,000, according to law enforcement authorities. More»