Australia is home to the only mass cuttlefish gathering in the world. This year these giants didn’t return

Australia's Point Lowly is home to the world's only massive gathering of giant cuttlefish—usually over one hundred thousand congregate there each winter to mate in elaborate, color-shifting displays. Per The Conversation, this year has brought an unprecedented crisis: tourism operators encountered fewer than ten cuttlefish per dive in areas where they'd normally see over a hundred. By July, the state government confirmed record-low numbers in this genetically distinct, heritage-listed population. Researchers suspect a harmful algal bloom may be responsible—either through direct exposure or by decimating the cuttlefish's prey, since they're obligate carnivores dependent on crabs and shellfish. Fortunately, a tourism ban has given the remaining animals breathing room, and a research working group is now compiling data to guide the population's conservation status review.

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