Have you ever wondered why an animal looks the way it does? Why some animals have super flashy colours that stick out, while others blend into their surroundings? Why some birds start fires on purpose (look up firehawks!)? Why animals from the bottom of the ocean or in a cave look like they came from another planet?
Life on Earth can be difficult for a lot of animals out there – it can be scorching hot and bone dry in the desert or freezing cold in the waters of Antarctica, not to mention all the other things living there that want to eat you or eat your only food! Fortunately, animals (and plants) have come up with lots of creative ways to live in even the harshest of places. Almost anywhere you can think of, something has found a way to live there.
In school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself, but I was always watching Deadly 60 and other shows about wildlife. I really liked animals, and I liked to learn about them. So, I went to university to learn about animals, and I have loved learning more about weird and wonderful creatures. Now I am an evolutionary ecologist, where my job is to find answers to those questions of ‘why’ – like why Tasmania’s mountain shrimp look SO different when they live in caves (see my gallery). I haven’t been doing this for very long, but I’ve already been to some crazy places, from the tops of mountains to the bottom of some of Tasmania’s beautiful caves, to find some very special animals. I get to tell everyone the stories behind some of the strangest things nature has to offer, and I can’t wait to discover even more!
