We came across this thought-provoking photo in a press release promoting the world's best wildlife photography being shown at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour.
The image, titled "Elephant in the Room", won Australian photographer Adam Oswell the photojournalism category of the 57th Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.
"Adam Oswell draws attention to zoo visitors watching a young elephant perform under water," the judges said.
"Although this performance was promoted as educational and as exercise for the elephants, Adam was disturbed by this scene. Organisations concerned with the welfare of captive elephants view performances like these as exploitative because they encourage unnatural behaviour."
Staffan Widstrand, a contest jury member, said the image "poses existential questions".
"Is this fun? Is this an attraction? Should we bring our children to such places?"
In Thailand, there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild.
A Sparrow in the Hand
Ian Kirkwood was having a bite at a cafe in Beaumont Street when he came across some sparrows.
"Suddenly there's one rather bedraggled baby sparrow, then a few more. They were so game, trusting, stupid - not sure which," Ian said.
"They were into my poached eggs as soon as I turned away to find the phone."
He said sparrows were "everywhere when I was a boy growing up in north Parramatta in the 1960s and '70s".
"I don't remember ever seeing one here, certainly not this century. Indian mynahs and cats I think are the usual explanation of their demise," he said.
"I'm sure lots of older readers will concur on their disappearance. They were considered pests by many when they were in plague proportions, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, I suppose."
Mick Roderick, of BirdLife Australia, said it was pretty unusual to see sparrows these days. "They have almost disappeared from the city," he said.
He said they were holding on in some suburbs and "places like the horse stables at Broadmeadow, which might be where the Beaumont Street birds emanated from".
"They're over on Throsby Creek as well, but patchy and possibly on the way out."
He said there were three theories for their demise: disease, change of gardening practices and the rise of the common myna.
"Disease is really a global decline theory and doesn't apply here. Change of gardening practices, with a move away from hedgerows and European style gardens could partly explain some of our birds disappearing.
"But the rise of the common myna is probably the best theory. They have proliferated at the exact time that spadgers [house sparrows] have declined. I reckon that's the most plausible theory locally."
All this makes us think of sparrow fart. Such a great time of day.
