Wildlife Bytes14/7/10

Wildlife MiniBytes

From the Editor;

We are still having some troubles with our IT servers, last week we noted that links in Wildlife Bytes only work if cut and pasted into your browser. We are working on fixing this.

Fraser Island Dingoes

Save the Fraser Island Dingoes organisation is having a Dingo Charity dinner at Hervey Bay on the 4th September, at the Hervey Bay RSL Function room. For Reservations phone 41241979, great guest artists, including Keri McInerney, Stevie T, Riverhead with special guest Mark Nuske, k'gari performers and more! Tickets are $50 each or $90 for a couple.

Tasmanian Possum Kill Plan

The new feature on the Tasmanian possum kill proposed plan is now live on the Animals Australia website – you can see it directly here - http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/save-tassie-possums/ But it is also on the front page so that everyone will see it. We are sure it will result in hundreds of emails to the Minister, so lets hope he is listening. If an election is held soon of course he will be in caretaker mode and not able to sign off on the management plan – so there may be a reprieve. *Animals Australia

Wildlife Sale Cancelled

Following our May report about the animals being captured in Hwange National Park for the purpose of being sold to Pyonyang Zoo in North Korea, we are now delighted to announce that the shipment has been cancelled. We would like to thank everybody who participated in protesting against the removal of these animals from Zimbabwe. We do not yet have accurate information on what will now become of the animals that have already been captured but we have an unconfirmed report that the 2 young elephants will be sent to Wild Horizons in Victoria Falls for rehabilitation before being released back into the wild. Although we are very grateful that the shipment was cancelled, we are still concerned because at a National Parks press conference last month, the Director General of National Parks stated that there were a further 5 countries who had placed orders to buy animals from Zimbabwe. We do not know whether or not National Parks are planning to fulfill those orders. * Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman of Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force

RSPCA Seminar

The proceedings from the latest RSPCA Seminar can be downloaded here http://www.rspca.org.au/what-we-do/science-and-policies/science-seminar.html We havent had time to read the proceedings yet, but many of our readers will be interested in the subjects below.......

Is kangaroo management justified and humane? What are the concerns and how can they be addressed? by Steve McLeod, Industry & Investment NSW (He ran the commercial kangaroo program for years) and

Hunting & feral animal control: conservation or con? Carol Booth, Invasive Species Council

Oil Spill

A text from Newsweek reads: "As BP makes its latest attempt to plug its gushing oil well, news photographers are complaining that their efforts to document the slow-motion disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are being thwarted by local and federal officials -- working with BP -- who are blocking access to the sites where the effects of the spill are most visible. More than a month into the disaster, a host of anecdotal evidence is emerging from reporters, photographers, and TV crews in which BP and Coast Guard officials explicitly target members of the media, restricting and denying them access to oil-covered beaches, staging areas for clean-up efforts, and even flyovers." One magazine story concludes with this surprisingly blunt statement: "The very idea that government officials are acting as agents of BP (of all companies) in what clearly seem to be unconstitutional acts to intimidate and impede the media is infuriating. Obviously, the U.S. Government and BP share the same interest -- preventing the public from knowing the magnitude of the spill and the inadequacy of the clean-up efforts -- but this creepy police state behavior is intolerable. " As one journalist has said, "There is a conspiracy under way right now. It's a conspiracy between the U.S. government and British Petroleum to cover-up all evidence of what's really happening in the Gulf Coast. "Conspiracy" is precisely the correct word to describe their behavior in all this, and I can only wonder how long it will take before the mainstream media reluctant utters the "C" word on air. * Newsweek

Meanwhile the Unified Area Command keeps a tally of animals collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other authorities in the impact area of the Deepwater Horizon spill. The official causes of death or injury have not yet been determined. As of Monday the following animals had been collected: Live birds, visibly oiled: 1,085, Dead birds, visibly oiled: 654, Dead birds, no visible oil: 1,126, Live sea turtles, visibly oiled: 139, Dead sea turtles, visibly oiled: 14, Dead sea turtles, no visible oil: 82, Live mammals, visibly oiled: 2, Dead mammals, visibly oiled: 3, Dead mammals, no visible oil: 51. Independent observers believe the wildlife toll is much higher.

Kangaroos and Dingoes....heres an interesting uTube video of a kangaroo and a Dingo facing each other off..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdT5vRMvEig&feature=fvw

Physic Octopus

World Cup phenomenon Paul the octopus has predicted that Spain will beat Holland in Sunday's final. The psychic cephalopod was presented with two boxes containing mussels at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen, the Spanish flag on one and the Dutch flag on the other. After lengthy consideration Paul snaffled the mussel from the tank bearing the Spanish flag. 'Das Krakenorakel' has correctly predicted the winners of each of the six games Germany played at the 2010 World Cup, including their semi-final defeat to Spain which prompted death threats against the English-born oracle. However, shortly before the main draw he boosted his chances of avoiding the paella pan by tipping Germany to win their third-place play-off against Uruguay on Saturday night. *

Mouse Plague Update

Farmers on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia have been burning their hay because of the region's mouse plague. Mice are often keen to nest in the hay. Poochera farmer Trevor Feltus says he had no option but to burn some of his supply. "Too many mice in it, you couldn't handle it, you couldn't pick it up," he said. "The mice had broken all the strings and everything, ate through the strings. "Anyhow they sort of soil it, you know." *ABC

Alligators

Florida wildlife officials say a 10-foot alligator bit off a man's hand while he was swimming in a canal with friends. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro says 18-year-old Timothy Delano of Naples is recovering at a hospital. Officials managed to catch the gator and retrieve the hand from its stomach, and doctors may be able to reattach the hand. Ferraro says Delano was swimming with three friends around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the alligator attacked. The men swam to shore and drove to a gas station, where they called 911. Delano was flown by helicopter to a hospital. Wildlife officials say people should stay out of freshwater canals and lakes this time of year because alligators are more active, especially around dawn and dusk. *AP

Birds

Conservationists from the Coorong region have trekked across South Australia to Lake Torrens in the outback to track a vulnerable bird species. A flock of banded stilts nests at the Coorong's southern lagoon and has been breeding there at times since 2006. The birds only breed around hyper-saline water and conservationists, along with the Environment Department, have noticed birds tagged at the Coorong are breeding at salty Lake Torrens. A member of the Coorong conservation group, Maureen Christie, says the sightings will help map the life cycles of the birds. "When we were there, the department saw one of the Coorong-flagged birds accompany a group of chicks to the water, so we're very excited about that," she said. "There was a breeding at Lake Torrens in 1989 and afterwards there were some seen back in the salt hills back around Adelaide. "Because they're so spectacular when they're in such large numbers, they do excite a lot of interest and we've been trying to track them as they move about." *ABC

Whale Meat

Ulsan (Korea) is the place to be if you are craving a plate of whale meat. The number of restaurants offering the dish in the southeastern metropolitan city has increased sharply over the past year, exceeding 100, the city government said Sunday. The figure is up nearly four times from a year earlier and the highest since the International Whaling Commission adopted a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. City officials say minke whale is the main item on the market. Catching whales for commercial purposes is banned around the world unless they are caught accidentally in fishing nets. Korea is one of the countries strictly prohibiting the catching of the endangered species for profit. However, whale meat is a traditional local delicacy for people living in the city. A 6-meter-long whale usually sells for 25 million won ($21,000) when demand is high and supply is short. An illegally caught one sells for about 16 million won on the black market. Illegal trading of the endangered species is the reason behind the mushrooming restaurants selling whale meat. As a result, environmental groups are calling for the government to monitor illegal hunting and trading more tightly. *Korea Times

Sealing

Canada is on the verge of implementing a gruesome plan to slaughter beautiful grey seals. A proposal calls for killing more than 220,000 seals on Sable Island. The cull and disposal program would run at birthing time each year for five years. Take action to stop this plan and prevent 220,000 Sable Island seals from being killed » The proposal itself is horrific. Baby seals would be shot, their carcasses would then be loaded onto dump trucks and incinerated. Here>> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/883/975/627?z00m=19864932 Why is the Canadian government even considering this plan? The seals are being blamed for depleted fish populations -- even though scientists have pointed the finger at commercial over-fishing, not wild seals.

Tigers

Vietnam's Environmental Police have confiscated two frozen tigers and a frozen panther in the central province of Nghe An. The animals, along with 5kg of suspected tiger bones, were confiscated from the home of a 53-year old man in Dien Chau district early last week, who has been arrested. The confiscation resulted from a co-ordinated effort between enforcement authorities, including the recently established Environmental Police. Despite their protection under Vietnamese and international law, tigers and panthers continue to be illegally hunted and traded across Vietnam and South-East Asia for their meat, as souvenirs, and for their bones, used in traditional Chinese medicine and to make tiger bone wine. In March this year, Lao Bao Border Guard Police seized a body of a tiger and a black panther being transported across the border to be sold in Vietnam. In October 2009, Vietnam Environmental Police seized two frozen tiger carcasses weighing a total of 130kg and arrested five suspects in Ha Noi. As few as 30 wild tigers are estimated to survive in Vietnam. * Network Item

Feral Fish

With the country’s attention riveted on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the news in late June that a live Asian carp had been caught in the Chicago Area Waterway System, just six miles from Lake Michigan, registered only a blip on the radar of the national news media. But for state and local officials in the Great Lakes region, the arrival of the carp on the doorstep of Lake Michigan is an environmental crisis. “The Great Lakes are on the brink of a great ecological and economic disaster that states in the region may never overcome,” Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio wrote in a letter to President Obama on Thursday. “We need immediate, decisive action.” The impact of an invasion of Asian carp could be overwhelming. The fish are prolific breeders and can grow to over four feet and weigh up to 100 pounds. The climate of the Great Lakes region is also a close match to their native Asian habitats, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. * NY TimesRead more http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/doom-feared-as-asian-carp-advances/?partner=rss&emc=rss


Giant Turtle

A British angler was left with a nasty surprise when he caught a giant turtle in a Midlands reservoir. The huge turtle is now in quarantine Steve Bellion, 23, was angling for carp when he hooked the 57lb (25kg) reptile at Earlswood Reservoir, near Birmingham. He eventually hauled the 2ft-long creature on to the bank, and it was identified as an 80-year-old alligator snapping turtle, normally found in the eastern corner of the US. The catch has solved a long mystery in local fishing circles - tales had abounded for a decade of a giant creature biting through lines and savaging ducks. The ancient female was transferred by British Waterways to West Midland Safari Park, where it is being kept in quarantine for 30 days and checked by vets. The turtle - which has yet to be named by its new keepers and can live to 160-years-old - will be housed in a vivarium with a male companion.

Bob Lawrence, director of wildlife at the safari park, said: "It's looking fine, but so it should be having had half of Britain's fish stocks at its mercy. They have been known to attack small domestic pets or children, but I don't think this one would have drifted too far from the water. "If it grew any larger it would have been a danger to shipping." He said it highlights the danger of introducing alien species into Britain's waterways, in the same way that American signal crayfish have caused such depletion to fish stocks and the UK's native crayfish. And he said the problem is only likely to get worse with global warming. "Thankfully alligator snapping turtles are a rarity in British waters - they can create havoc for native species," he told Sky News Online. "It was probably dumped by its owner after it grew too big or became a nuisance. "They have been known to attack small domestic pets or children, but I don't think this one would have drifted too far from the water. "Because it has no natural predators, it could have lived to a ripe old age and grown to up to 80kg. I just hope there was only one and it didn't have any offspring." *Sky News


Water Weeds

Two of the world's worst water weeds are on the loose in Adelaide. There are fears the weeds could spread from backyard ponds and water features into creeks and rivers, where they smother native wildlife. The Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board is running a campaign to seek and destroy the weeds, spurred on by reports the plants were offered for sale at northern suburbs markets and garage sales. Three investigations are under way, as authorities crack down on the illegal trade. Salvinia and water hyacinth are both declared pests. Their movement or sale can incur fines of $10,000 to $50,000, says Michael Garrod from the NRM Board.

"Both of these plants grow very quickly, and form dense mats that reduce water quality, increase evaporation, impede water flow, block irrigation channels and threaten aquatic ecosystems," he said. "If they get into our waterways, we could expect to see the deaths of many native fish, crustaceans and other aquatic animals, as well as serious damage to our water supply infrastructure." He said the weeds had been "circulating for a while through personal networks" but the fact the plants were now being offered for sale was of "great concern, as the circulation increases dramatically". "We encourage people to purchase, preferably natives, from reputable nurseries, which will minimise the risk of purchasing and spreading rogue plants."

David Newble from West Lakes Shore said his wife became concerned about the plants in her pond when she saw an advertisement in the paper. The authorities were called in and the suspects identified as water hyacinth, "the world's worst aquatic weed". "It just floats on the surface and seems to reproduce quite rapidly, which of course was quite good as far as we were concerned, but not so good for the waterways of Australia," he said. He said they'd picked up the weed from friends, "they say `We've got a good weed that grows in the pond, would you like some?". *Adelaide Now


Birds and Aircraft!

Nearly 400 Canada geese and goslings that had been living at Prospect Park were captured and euthanized last week as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the goose population in the New York City region. Early on Thursday morning, wildlife biologists and technicians descended on the park and netted the birds. The biologists, who work with the wildlife services division of the United States Department of Agriculture, then packed the geese two or three to a crate and took them to a facility where they were gassed with lethal doses of carbon dioxide, said Carol A. Bannerman, a spokeswoman for the wildlife services division. The wildlife specialists had taken advantage of the fact that the birds were in the middle of molting season, when they shed their feathers and are unable to fly. On Monday morning, only four geese were seen out on the lake in Prospect Park, according to one nearby resident, and it was not clear if they had avoided the roundup or arrived in the days since it occurred.

Last summer, 1,200 geese from 17 sites around the city were euthanized. The authorities have been trying to thin out their ranks since two geese flew into the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 in January, 2009, causing it to splash down in the Hudson River. Everyone on board survived. The absence of the birds was noticed by park enthusiasts and landscapers, though officials at Prospect Park were not notified of the specifics about their removal. Two of the park’s birds gained some notoriety because of their disabilities – one was missing the top part of its beak, and another had a crossbow bolt speared through its neck. The Prospect Park geese were not the only ones removed in the last month. The goal is to remove all geese within seven miles of La Guardia and John F. Kennedy airports. *NY Times


Another Maria Island Kangaroo Kill

Parks and Wildlife says the operation is in the interests of animal welfare but kangaroo advocates say it is backward and cruel. The Parks and Wildlife Service said the island's forester kangaroo, Tasmanian pademelon and Bennett's wallaby population had increased 30 per cent since 1994 and the cull was based on monitoring by a consultant ecologist. But the Australian Society for Kangaroos, which has also condemned kangaroo slaughter in Canberra and Bathurst, said natural selection would thin population numbers in times of low feed. "This slaughter is happening on an island which uses these animals as part of its lure as a tourist destination," society co-ordinator Nikki Sutterby said yesterday. "Some of our members visited Maria Island in 2008 after a cull removed almost 500 marsupials and they reported there were very few left. "Where is Tasmania's long-term solution to stop this annual slaughter? "What about a sterilisation program involving the alpha males? "Joeys at foot will be orphaned through this process and those in pouch are decapitated or bashed to death."

Parks and Wildlife said the cull was conducted in line with a national code of practice and pouch young were euthanised in a swift and humane way by a vet or experienced wildlife management officer. The Parks and Wildlife Service said the island's marsupial population needed to be culled to stop animals becoming sick and distressed. Two teams carry out the cull. One team shoots while the other checks that the animals die quickly. An acting Southern Region manager, Shane Breen, said 600 animals would be removed from the island during the two-week operation which had begun yesterday. The island will be closed to the public until July 23. "The decision to remove these animals is based on biological monitoring directed by a consultant ecologist," Mr Breen said.

The kangaroo society recently condemned the ACT Government's decision to kill another 1890 kangaroos in its nature reserves and has filed a formal complaint over allegations the Bathurst Council killed 88 joeys illegally at Mt Panorama in preparation for the Bathurst 1000 car race. Ms Sutterby said Tasmania was the only state that did not use professional shooters to cull kangaroos. "Parks and Wildlife has used the cheapest and most brutal method of wildlife management in the form of annual massacres using in-house staff and causing horrific suffering and cruelty," Ms Sutterby said. She said dozens of kangaroos died inhumanely in the 2006 cull because many were shot in the body instead of the head.

Mr Breen said Maria Island was a unique environment which had been significantly altered by human use and the past introduction of species including kangaroos and wallabies presented ongoing management challenges. At the same time, an investigation into setting up an insurance population of Tasmanian devils on Maria Island continues. The Maria Island Translocation Project will be carried out over the next 12 months. Baseline surveys will be conducted first to ensure it is appropriate to release devils on Maria Island. *Mercury

Ed Comment, Talk about 18th century wildlife management practices! To read more about Maria Island and previous kills, visit http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/mariaisland.html Dr David Obendorf comments ......"So far from the truth - the island is a managed as a convict gaol for introduced macropods -a free-range zoo where they annually kill ~70% of the inmates! Is this Van Diemen's Land of the 1800s or Tasmania of the 21st century! Appalling public policy from a state government mega-Department that is out of control".

More Hobart Kangaroos Killed

More native animals have been slaughtered at a rubbish tip in Hobart's northern suburbs. The number of animals found clubbed, shot or savaged by dogs at the Glenorchy tip and nearby Tolosa Park has doubled in the past six weeks. Council workers have found the carcasses of more than 200 wallabies and kangaroos. Some have been left propped against fences, others within metres of homes. A public appeal launched by police in May to catch those responsible has had little effect. Glenorchy Police Sergeant Ian Shepherd says it is frustrating. "We have dedicated fairly significant police resources to this operation which is adding to our frustration because it's resources that could probably be better spent elsewhere," he said. "We've had police on overtime, we have had police there all night."

Glenorchy Council waste management co-ordinator Joe Duncan says the sight greeting workers each day is sickening. "They come in every morning and it's a body count really, how many got killed last night, and it is well and truly beyond a joke," he said. "They're not any threat at all to anyone and it's just frustrating to see them killed in this manner and in these numbers." Police believe the killing is taking place in the early hours of the morning by someone familiar with the area. Sgt Shepherd says there is a handful of suspects, but he hopes more information from the public will help focus investigations. However he fears witnesses may be too scared to come forward. "There is a strong link between people who commit acts of animal cruelty and people who are violent in their personal lives," he said. He has reminded anyone with information that they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously. * ABC

Kangaroos and Fluoride

Fluoride emissions, that deformed the bones of kangaroos in Portland, will increase in Anglesea with a trial to start about 800m from the town's new primary school. The Alcoa power station will process a waste product called HiCal 40 carbon fuel to determine whether it can be used as an alternative to brown coal. Alcoa and the Environment Protection Authority maintain the increase in airborne fluoride will be minimal and non-harmful to humans, animals and vegetation. "The alternative-fuel trial is safe and will see emissions for all substances remain well within the EPA guidelines," Anglesea power station manager Stephanie Pearce said. But Dr Mark Diesendorf, University of NSW environmental studies deputy director, is concerned about the trial. "I would certainly be worried about building a primary school near there," he said. "(Children) will be more sensitive than adults because, with any toxin, you're interested in the amount of toxin that enters the body in relation to body weight."

Dr Diesendorf said EPA approval did not necessarily mean the trial would be safe. "A lot of these standards are set in a way that allows polluters to continue operating," he said. "The health hazards of airborne fluoride produced by aluminium smelters, brick works and steel works, which settles on vegetation have been well known for 50 years. "It's just ridiculous that authorities like the EPA are aligning themselves with industrial polluters." Autopsies have revealed kangaroos that grazed near Alcoa's Portland smelter, and populations near Austral Bricks in Craigieburn, developed fluorosis as a result of ingesting fluoride emissions. The fluorosis caused bone growths in the paws, ankles, jaw and calves.

But EPA director Matt Vincent said fluoride emissions at Anglesea would be 10 times lower than those produced at Alcoa's Portland and Point Henry sites. "In granting approval, EPA assessed Alcoa's application and took into consideration recent research into the impacts of fluoride on kangaroos at other locations in Victoria," Mr Vincent said. "EPA is satisfied that Alcoa's fluoride emissions for this trial sit well within the State Environment Protection Standards and do not pose an environmental risk." Wildlife Victoria CEO Sandy Fernee cared for the kangaroos affected by fluorosis at Craigieburn. "They're in a serious amount of pain because of it and their mobility is completely taken away," she said. "Immobilisation then leads to starvation and the animals have to be euthanased." But Dr Ian Beveridge, a professor of parasitology at the University of Melbourne, said the effects were less severe. "I think there is some degree of concern because a high proportion of them had changes in their teeth but they were very, very minor," he said. *Geelong Advertiser


Wildlife Corridor Mooted

The establishment of a conservation corridor spanning 2800 kilometres along the east coast of Australia, which would allow wildlife to relocate as the climate warms, is vital for the survival of many species, a report has found. The report, commissioned by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, outlines the scientific basis for a continuous conservation area, which will stretch from just outside Melbourne to the Atherton tablelands in North Queensland and link national parks with state forests and privately owned land. Brendan Mackey, an environmental scientist and the author of the report, said although there were many conservation areas along the east coast, both private and publicly owned, many remained isolated. "One of the impacts of climate change is that species will have to move around to find suitable habit resources. We need to make the whole landscape more biodiversity friendly." The aim of the corridor, called the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative, is to protect endangered and threatened species, and ecosystems as a whole.

Ian Pulsford, from the Department of Climate Change and Water, said NSW was the first state to implement the corridor. The NSW section will be more than 1200 kilometres long and is home to two-thirds of the state's threatened species and three-quarters of its vegetation. It also contained most of the headwaters linked to the state's water supply, he said. Although almost half of the state's section was national park and reserves, there were important eco-systems on private and public land. "We are trying to move away from ad hoc bits of conservation," Mr Pulsford said. In areas identified to become part of the corridor, a program facilitator would act as a broker, visiting private landholders to request they become part of the program, he said. "The corridor is voluntary but there has been a good response from private landholders, and there are incentives to make your land part of the conservation area," said Mr Pulsford, who managed the initiative on behalf of DECCW.

The program involved partnerships between local and state governments, industry, conservation groups and private land owners and could take decades to complete. The report compared the benefits of a connected corridor with the conventional approach to environmental protection, which focused attention on particular areas and threatened species. "The conventional thinking is wait until things are really bad and then desperately try to save things at the last minute," said Professor Mackey. Australia has an very poor record of wildlife extinction. Close to half of all mammal extinctions that occurred on the planet in the past 200 years have occurred in Australia. Three bird species, four frog species and 61 species of flowering plant have become extinct since European settlement, detailed the report. *SMH


Marine Reserves

T he Gulf of Mexico oil spill is proving to be one of those environmental events that could significantly change the oil and gas industry. Just as the Exxon Valdez spill reformed oil tanker shipping and the horrifying Bhopal toxic disaster affected the chemical industry, a major shift in community confidence and potentially enormous regulatory changes could affect the petroleum industry operating in the United States. In Australia, however, it's been a different story. Late last year, we witnessed our own oil catastrophe: the explosive blow-out on the Montara rig off the Kimberley coast, which then pumped oil into our seas for more than 10 weeks. As we wait for the findings of the inquiry into the Australian spill and we watch the drama in the Gulf unfold, the question remains whether the Australian Government is willing to take the steps needed to ensure that critically important marine areas off our own shores are protected from risky extractive uses.

The majestic Kimberley coastline is awash with life. A virtual marine super-highway for migratory species, the area is home to a wide array of sea turtles, fish, seabirds and whales. Twenty-one species of whales and dolphins can be found in the region, including 28,000 humpbacks who arrive every year to calve. It's hard to imagine a worse place for an oil spill. Yet last spring, countless barrels of oil poured into the Timor Sea off Australia's north-west coast. Satellite images show the Montara spill eventually spread over 6000sqkm. Fishermen as far away as Indonesia reported finding contaminated fish and it's still uncertain how much oil was released into the environment. We can no longer afford to ignore the devastating reality of the risks involved in quenching our national thirst for oil and gas. To truly protect our oceans we need a more balanced approach to such offshore development, with stronger environmental safeguards. One of the best ways to minimise such risk in the future is to expand the number of marine sanctuaries around Australia, particularly in iconic and important areas such as the Kimberley, the south-west marine region and the Coral Sea.

The Government is considering establishing new marine sanctuaries. Marine scientists worldwide agree on the need to create a network of large sanctuaries in areas that marine life rely on for feeding and breeding. The more we separate offshore drilling from our most critical marine ecosystems, the more virtual insurance the public receives in protecting valuable assets. Blessed with an array of unique wildlife species above and below the waves, Australia claims the planet's third largest area of ocean. Yet efforts to protect our marine environment have been few, with less than 5per cent of our waters highly protected. Since the Kimberley oil spill, 31 new oil and gas lease areas have been opened up, but nothing has been done to safeguard our marine life and coastal communities from the high risks associated with this sort of industrial development. It's time for us to take the same sort of precautionary action being considered in the US. Putting in place a network of large marine sanctuaries in Australian waters would provide a prudent investment in the future health of our nation's ecologically important ecosystems. Dr Barry Traill is the director of the Pew Environment Group's Wild Australia Program. *Canberra Times


Tassie Devils

Barrington Tops in the NSW high country is a long way from the wilds of Tasmania, but it is about to become a significant new component of the fight to save the Tasmanian devil. The Australian Reptile Park near Gosford will today announce plans to build the first free-range enclosures (FREs) for devils on the mainland, on land donated by billionaire casino owner James Packer. Until now, the only FRE has been in Bicheno in Tasmania, while three more are in construction in the island state as part of a broader devil ``insurance'' population. Being bred in zoos and wildlife parks around the country, insurance devils would be used to reintroduce the carnivorous marsupial to Tasmania after extinction in the wild. Experts believe extinction in the wild is likely within 10 to 25 years because of a unique contagious cancer that has wiped out an estimated 80 per cent of the species.

Reptile park owner John Weigel told The Australian construction would begin next month on an initial 13 new FREs, each ranging from 0.5ha to 4ha, and costing about $500,000. ``We have the perfect site, 350ha of high-altitude bushland up at Barrington Tops (about 260km north of Sydney),'' he said. ``It's perfect for the job -- big snowfalls, very cold and good habitat for devils. We're very excited.'' Subject to planning approval by the Upper Hunter Shire Council, the 13 enclosures would be ready for 48 ``founder'' devils -- selected for their genetic stock -- in November. Mr Weigel said it was expected that, by 2016, the ``Devil Ark'' project at Barrington Tops would have bred to a population of 360. This would add to an existing insurance population breeding in 19 zoos and wildlife parks nationwide, which stands at about 250 devils. *The Australian