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Some zoologists spent their time avoiding the Olympics, but most, along with 3.8 billion people around the world, watched the spectacular Sydney Olympic games and were enthralled by the dazzling opening and closing ceremonies. A huge number of Australians went to the venues or watched the events on TV. One can still hear the patriotic chant:" Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi". Some of the symbolism of the games was overt and contemporary, such as the reconciliation issue, the succession of female former Olympians in the relay leading to the torch lighting ceremony, and several Aussie animals on display as mascots. However, the Olympic pageant included a much longer lit of faunal emblems. This editorial survey constructs the Olympic faunal lit then capitalizes on the jingoistic chant by converting it into one aimed at achieving a Gold Medal in the race to conserve our faunal biodiversity. This will require an …