Wildlife Bytes 22/9/09

Whats On for Wildlife Protection......

Brisbane Attention everyone who cares about our wildlife and in particular koalas... Come and join us at a Rally in Brisbane Square on Sept 25th in Brisbane... Sign in at 11am, Rally starts at 12. Please register you interest at saveourkoalas@gmail.com Lets show you support of our wildlife and meet like minded people.... The Koala Foundation is hosting a 'Save the Koala' Month. Read more here... https://www.savethekoala.com/save-the-koala-month.html *Network Items Sydney

A "National Kangaroo Awareness Day" will be held on October 24th in Hyde Park. More details later.

Wildlife MiniBytes

"Sustainable Use"

"If someone tells you that it’s fine to kill sharks; there are plenty in the ocean – don’t buy it. And if they say there are enough chimpanzees and tigers in the forest; so don’t worry about their slaughter – definitely don’t buy it. Our endangered animals are being wiped off the earth by illegal wildlife trade, and it’s up to us to stop it. Never buy illegal wildlife products and we can save our endangered animals. When the buying stops the killing can, too." *Jane Goodall

Fraser Dingo Day

Gathered together to show their concern for the dingoes of Fraser Island, member for Hervey Bay Ted Sorensen addressed the crowd and warned that the purest strain of dingo in Australia could become the next Tasmanian tiger if dingo management on the island didn't change. Dingo Day was held at Apex Park in Hervey Bay yesterday and several volunteers walked around educating the crowd while Mr Sorensen delivered his address. There was also singing, dancing and story-telling from the Butchulla community, relating traditional tales of Fraser Island and the dingoes. Ensuring the dingoes' future should be a priority but questioned the State Government's management policies, he said. “Every time a dingo looks at someone they are destroyed.”

Mr Sorensen said the dingoes were an important part of what brought people to Fraser Island. “Let's be proud of what we've got.” Malcolm Kilpatrick, who helped organised the event, also spoke yesterday. “Ten or more (dingoes) have been killed on the island - and that's 10 too many,” he said. Mr Kilpatrick said it was great to see so many people out in support of the dingoes. “We have to make people aware of the plight of the dingoes. “That is why we are having this awareness day.” Butchulla elder Marie Wilkinson also spoke, saying she would do everything she could to fight for the dingoes. * Fraser Coast Chronicle

Read more and see photos....... http://fraserislanddingoes.blogspot.com/

Fraser Island Dingoes

An Aboriginal elder has criticised the Queensland Government's dingo management practices on Fraser Island. Butchella elder Marie Wilkinson says the Government must stop shooting the south-east Queensland island's purebred dingos before they are wiped out. She says better management of tourists would do more to reduce the number of dingo attacks and there also needs to be more cooperation between the Butchella people and the State Government. "They've got to sit down and talk with the Aboriginal people on this ... because we're the traditional owners of the land and the dingos belong to our people and belong to the country," Ms Wilkinson said. *ABC

Camels

Member for Maranoa Bruce Scott says a plan to cull 650,000 feral camels and leave their corpses in the desert is a lost trade opportunity. The Federal Government gave $19 million to Alice Springs’ Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre to shoot the wild camels from helicopters. Scott says the government has issued a quick fix, without acknowledging that the hundreds of thousands of animals to be killed could be a source of export revenue through their meat and their milk. The Queensland MP said there were already abattoirs processing camel meat, while “shooting them from helicopters means their corpses are left to rot in the sun, which attracts feral pigs and wild dogs – two pests that pose a far worse problem to agriculture than do camels.” *Network Item

Walruses

Hundreds of dead walruses have been found on Alaska's north-west coast, coinciding with reports that Arctic Sea ice has reached the third lowest level ever recorded. Some environmentalists in the United States think that is the cause of the deaths. The Centre for Biological Diversity says the retreating sea ice deprives female walruses and calves of their natural habitat so they are forced to come ashore and congregate in densely packed groups with larger males. When something alarms them, such as nearby human activity, stampedes can occur. Campaigners believe the young walruses were crushed to death. *BBC

Wildlife Trafficking

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org) announced today that Alibaba (www.taobo.com.cn), the world's largest business-to-business and outsource portal site for traders worldwide, has agreed to ban all online trade in elephant ivory, sea turtle, and shark fin. In addition, Alibaba has strengthened its internal control of wildlife products traded to accord to international and national regulations. Alibaba's announcement comes nearly a year after eBay, working with IFAW, agreed to ban the sale of all ivory products. The milestone decision was made following a year long collaboration between IFAW and Alibaba's partner site, Taobao.com to raise awareness about the unsustainable and cruel trade of wildlife on the Internet. IFAW encourages netizens to report online wildlife crime activities and helps portal sites filter out advertisements of wildlife products. To date, 333 wildlife product advertisements and 5 traders registered from Cameron, USA, and Canada have been removed from the Alibaba site. Grace Gabriel, IFAW's Asia Regional Director said, "From eBay to Taobao to Alibaba, a growing number of internet sites are taking responsibilities to protect the world's precious wildlife from the threat of trade. It is a very encouraging trend." *U/W Times

Gt Keppel Island

Capricorn Conseration Council and local photographer Tom Sjolund are looking for 100 photographers to join him on Great Keppel Island as a way of saying NO to Tower Holdings proposed redevelopment of the island. 100 photographers will make the local media sit up and take notice, Tower has bought them all. See: http://www.cccqld.org.au/ Can you help? Tom Sjolund, Manager, Photos Rock, 191 Elphinstone Street, Rockhampton 4701 Ph: (07) 4926 7363 Mobile: 0402 245 353

Giant Squid Found

US scientists in the Gulf of Mexico unexpectedly netted a 5.9-metre giant squid off the coast of Louisiana, the Interior Department said, showing how little is known about life in the deep waters of the Gulf. Not since 1954, when a giant squid was found floating dead off the Mississippi Delta, has the rare species been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico. The squid, weighing in at 46.7 kilograms, was caught July 30 in a trawl net more than 1,500 feet underwater as it was pulled by a research vessel. The giant squid, which did not survive the rapid change in water depth when brought to the surface, was preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History for further study. *ABC

Flying Foxes

The Australasian Bat Society conference will be held in Darwin 12-14 July 2010. If any bat carers plan to come, would you be interested in participating/running a workshop type breakout session on a topic batty?? If so, please let me know toni.mitchell@nt.gov.au Toni Mitchell

Conservation Sites Unsold

A public auction has failed to sell bushland conservation blocks at Ironbank in the Adelaide hills. The Nature Foundation held an auction of two blocks of more then eight hectares of pristine bushland, both tied to heritage conservation agreements. Foundation environmental project officer, Alex Nankivell, says 30 people went to the reserve at the weekend but were probably put off buying by the cost and paperwork involved. He is confident the land can be sold in a private arrangement. "The asking price is the sort of low to mid $300,000s and there we had a good turnout, lots of of interested young families actually but unfortunately it got passed in, but it will continue to be on the market as a private treaty," he said. Any new owner would be required to look after native species including grey kangaroos and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. *ABC

Sporting Shooters

The National Parks and Wildlife officer investigating the deaths of numerous kangaroos and donkeys on a station near Tibooburra, in far western New South Wales, says she has never seen anything more appalling. Ingrid Witte says the animals bodies were sprayed with bullets and it was hurtful for her to see that someone could have done that. Ms Witte says she has come across scenes like this before, but this one seems like a well prepared attack. "People shoot not only signs but also native wildlife, donkeys or livestock for that matter, and horses have have been shot in the past, so it's a really awful undertaking," she said. "What some people seem to think is fun and for other people it's extremely hurtful and just downright wrong and appalling." Ms Witte says it is an offensive to kill wildlife and the offenders could face heavy fines or even jail. *ABC

Birdwatching

Clear blue skies and perfect wind patterns made for ideal hawk-watching weather this weekend at Greenwich Audubon, US, where thousands of wildlife enthusiasts came out to catch a glimpse of a large variety of birds as they headed south for the winter. Ryan Maclean, 19, and Benjamin VanDoren, 15, both from Westchester, camped out in the observation deck armed with cameras and binoculars as they stared up at the sky Saturday morning. "We were waiting for a day that had good conditions," said Maclean. "This was it." Both said they had been coming to the hawk watch ever since they were children. The event drew in people of all ages from different areas in the region. *

Timor Oil Spill

Still uncapped after four weeks, the Timor Sea spill now covers an area up to 100 times the size of Sydney Harbour. A report, compiled by Melbourne-based consultant ecologist Simon Mustoe and released yesterday, says the area may be host to 30,000 individual sea snakes and 16,000 turtles. Its report reveals that up to 15 species of whale and dolphin, more than 30 seabirds and five types of turtle can be found in the area covered by the slick. *

Kangaroos

An Atherton psychologist got the fright of her life yesterday when a large kangaroo busted into her office and forced her to leap on to a desk for safety. The 1.5m roo created more than six minutes of havoc at the office shared by psychologist Suzanne Habib and disability employment agency, Commonwealth Rehabilitation Services Australia. But the drama did not end there. The escaping roo bolted out of the office and nearly knocked over an elderly woman using a walking fame to make her way along Railway Lane before the frightened animal headed up Jack St. Ms Habib said it was a huge surprise to be greeted by a kangaroo. "Normally it’s very quiet and orderly in my office," she said. "But the kangaroo came in without a referral or an appointment. *Cairns Post

Frogs

Have you ever heard a frog growling in your garden? If you have, wildlife experts want to hear about it because they fear Tasmania's green and gold frogs may be disappearing. The frogs, known in Victoria as "growling grass frogs" because of the males' distinctive call, are listed as threatened nationally because of pollution and declining habitat. "At a few of the sites in the Hobart area previously recorded for the species we haven't been able to find any evidence of them," said state wildlife health officer Annie Philips. "We would like to know if they are still out there." Dr Philips said now was the perfect time for backyard sleuths to investigate. "The rain leads them to vocalise, making them easier to locate," she said. The department hopes Hobart residents will email location details, photos and call recordings to david.wilson@dpipwe.tas.gov.au *Mercury


Koalas

The Australian Wildlife Hospital on the Sunshine Coast has launched a national campaign to combat a koala disease epidemic that ecologists say is just as devastating as the one decimating Tasmanian devils. The hospital's director of research and ecological services, Dr Jon Hanger, said yesterday that while habitat loss and fragmentation were most implicated in koala population declines, disease was now forcing smaller populations into extinction. "Research into diseases in wildlife is notoriously underfunded by the usual research funding bodies," he told Brisbane's Courier-Mail. Dr Hanger, a koala research pioneer and the first person to isolate and genetically sequence the deadly koala retrovirus infection 10 years ago, said Australia had the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world and koalas were also heading that way. "We cannot afford to sit on our hands and hope the koala population will survive these epidemics," he said.

"Twenty-two million dollars has been committed by government to manage the contagious cancer affecting Tasmanian devils. The koala disease epidemic is just as devastating but we know little about it." Dr Hanger said while chlamydiosis was the most recognised koala disease, there was also a high incidence of leukaemia, bone marrow failure, cancers and koala AIDS, all suspected to be connected with the koala retrovirus, detected in all koala populations tested to date. The wildlife hospital, part of the Australia Zoo complex, is now calling for Koala Crusaders to make donations. To help go to www.wildlifewarriors.org. * Courier Mail


Bull Sharks

Deadly bull sharks are cruising past some of the Gold Coast's most popular family holiday spots, covering up to 30km in just one tidal movement of six hours. New research reveals the aggressive creatures begin their journey in the Nerang River near the Pacific Highway, head east past Conrad Jupiters and through the canals before heading north past Budds Beach and the Broadwater Parklands. And marine scientists like Sea World's Trevor Long, experienced from his own search to find exhibits for the theme park, warns the predators are likely to be more of a problem during summer months and at night when they move from the deep of canals to the surface for food.

Ground-breaking research by Jonathan Werry, from the School of Environment at Griffith University, found the Nerang River upstream with its less salty water and supplies of mullet to be the perfect creche for young bull sharks. "The sharks' strategy to have their juveniles in a river is a good one," Mr Werry said. "They're safe from predators. The adults will eat the babies."The 32-year-old shark research scientist and his team in the past two years dropped thousands of modified long fishing lines baited with live fish, catching then tagging juvenile sharks.

Acoustic tags placed on 24 sharks connected with beacons established along the river, the canals and Seaway revealed the path sharks take through the tourist city. "Once they become teenagers it's a different story," Mr Werry said. "They use the river and canals, they know it well, but they're confident enough to risk going out into the outside world." He is yet to quantify the number of sharks but believes it is more conservative than widely thought, adding "it's definitely not thousands". Mr Long agrees with the findings and has welcomed the research after several fatalities occurred in Coast canals.

Gold Coast resident Beau Martin was killed by a shark in Miami Lake in December 2002, and six weeks later champion bowler Bob Purcell was attacked and killed in Burleigh Lake. Mr Long said adult female bull sharks moved up the river to have their pups in summer, and they needed extra food to sustain them on their way out to the Seaway. Even 1.5m "teenagers" headed to the Seaway could "give a nasty bite". "When I turn off the lights at our exhibit the bull sharks go to the surface," Mr Long said. "If you're splashing your arms around (in the canal) you will be bait." *Courier Mail

Ed Comment; Every summer people (usually teenagers) can be seen swimming in the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast canals. The message here is ...Dont swim in the canals!!