Trove of wild skins and skulls seized in Australia

Orangutan, lion and bear skulls were among hundreds of illegal wildlife products seized in a raid on a property in Sydney, the Australian environment department said on Thursday.

Investigators also discovered the skins of a lynx and an Alaskan wolf, as well as numerous other skulls and pieces of ivory, in the haul of almost 400 items.

"Operation Bonaparte is one of the largest wildlife seizures in Australia, and follows detailed monitoring and investigative work by departmental officers," department spokeswoman Deb Callister said.

The raid at a house in the suburb of Parramatta on Wednesday also uncovered a variety of weapons, including two walking canes containing hidden swords, flick knives and cross bows.

A 41-year-old man was charged with weapons offences and is due to appear in court on August 31. No charges have yet been laid over the wildlife stash.

Trade in many of the items that were discovered in the property is strictly regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Offences can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

Humans evolved in grassland, not forests?

A U.S. study questions the theory that early humans evolved in closed woodland in Africa and then moved to open savannah as they become bipedal.

Researchers at the University of Utah say an analysis of fossil soils in regions associated with early hominins in eastern Africa 6 million years ago suggests our early ancestors evolved in a savannah-like environment with less than 40 per cent tree cover, rather than in more closed woodland.

Fossil soils can yield information about the vegetation that once grew in the regions and can provide clues to the type of ecosystem that existed in different time periods, a university release said Wednesday.

"We've been able to quantify how much shade was available in the geological past," said geochemist Thure Cerling, one author of a study appearing in the journal Nature. "And it shows there have been open habitats for all of the last 6 million years in the environments in eastern Africa where some of the most significant early human fossils were found.

"Wherever we find human ancestors, we find evidence for open habitats similar to savannas -- much more open and savanna-like than forested," he said.

"Currently, many scientists think that before 2 million years ago, things were forested [in East Africa] and savanna conditions have been present only for the past 2 million years," Cerling said. "This study shows that during the development of bipedalism [about 4 million years ago] open conditions were present, and even predominant, he said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/08/03/Humans-evolved-in-grassland-not-forests/UPI-72381312417997/#ixzz1U5VoJTVg