Wildlfie Bytes 21/9/10

Water Weeds

Strong flows from Victorian floodwaters are needed to save the River Murray from another environmental disaster - weeds. Huge clumps of river weeds are spreading along the river through poor flows over the past few years. The weeds - Canadian pond weed and Hydrilla - now have the potential to dam the river, Riverland MP Tim Whetstone says. Canadian pond weed is native to North America and is believed to have been introduced through aquariums, where it often is used for decoration and even thrives unrooted. Hydrilla, native to Australia, Africa and Europe, is regarded as one of the most noxious water weeds and in Florida is costing millions of dollars a year to control. Mr Whetstone has warned Parliament the proliferation of the invasive weeds has the potential to destroy tourism and harm water quality. People also may become trapped and drown. He said the only effective way of controlling the weed was through mechanical harvesting as chemical sprays could not be used for obvious reasons.

He has called on the Government to investigate this and other effective control methods. "The invasion of these weeds has been insidious, because, like European carp, the problem is mostly happening out of sight," he said. "They are everywhere." Mr Whetstone said in some sections of the river he had seen patches of floating duckweed, which had anchored itself to the pondweed and Hydrilla. He said on a boat trip along the river he and friends were forced to stop the boat and clear away weeds which had fouled the propellor. "The major concern I have is that, in the warmer weather, someone will go for a swim or come off their water ski, become trapped in these weeds and drown," Mr Whetstone said. He said on his trip he had seen a dead kangaroo which obviously had been caught in the weed while trying to cross the river. "The weeds present a potential threat to water quality," he said. "They appear to inhibit natural water flow which may lead to the build-up of toxic blue-green algae." Water Minister Paul Caica said he had been advised the pondweed had shown signs of dying back over winter. The return of better flows and more turbid water, it was believed, would further hinder its growth. "The Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board is continuing to monitor the situation," he said. *Adelaide Now

Walruses

Tens of thousands of walruses have come ashore in north-west Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. US government scientists say this massive move to shore by walruses is unusual in the United States. But it has happened at least twice before, in 2007 and 2009. In those years Arctic sea ice also was at or near record low levels. The walruses "stretch out for one mile [1.6 kilometres] or more. This is just packed shoulder-to-shoulder," US Geological Survey biologist Anthony Fischbach said in a telephone interview from Alaska. He estimated their number at tens of thousands. Scientists with two federal agencies are most concerned about the 900-kilogram female walruses stampeding and crushing each other and their smaller calves near Point Lay, Alaska, on the Chukchi Sea. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to change airplane flight patterns to avoid spooking the animals.

Officials have also asked locals to be judicious about hunting, said agency spokesman Bruce Woods. The federal government is in a year-long process to determine if walruses should be put on the endangered species list. Fischbach said scientists don't know how long the walrus camp-out will last, but there should be enough food for all of them. During normal summers, the males go off to play in the Bering Sea, while the females raise their young in the Chukchi. The females rest on sea ice and dive from it to the sea floor for clams and worms. "When they no longer have a place to rest, they need to go some place and it's a long commute," Fischbach said. "This is directly related to the lack of sea ice." Loss of sea ice in the Chukchi this summer in the northern hemisphere has surprised scientists because last winter lots of old established sea ice floated into the region, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Centre. But that has disappeared. Although last year was a slight improvement over previous years, Serreze says there has been a long-term decline that he blames on global warming. "We'll likely see more summers like this," he said. "There is no sign of Arctic recovery." *AP


Wildlife Kill Permit

Kingston Beach Golf Club in Tasmania currently hold a permit to kill native wildlife on their course. Native Hens (endemic to Tasmania), Wood Ducks, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and Brushtail Possums are all on the hit list. They have been issued with a permit to shoot native wildlife for the past few years. Please email them today and tell them how disgusted you are that they would think to kill native animals when there are ways to deter them, or simply learn to live with them. Please email them info@kbgc.com.au and ring (03) 6229 8300. Please contact the golf club today and spare these creatures a totally pointless death. *Network Item

Wildlife War Zone

Redlands (Queensland) has been likened to a "war zone" for native wildlife with a mounting death toll in recent weeks. The deaths of a number of healthy koalas, a young kangaroo and an echidna have led wildlife carers to plead with drivers and dog owners to help stop the carnage. With national Save the Koala Day this week, the deaths have distressed many carers and community members trying to save and protect this iconic but endangered animal. Meanwhile, the Redlands 24 Hour Wildlife Rescue Service is also looking for dedicated people to volunteer for its wildlife phone service (during the day) and the after-hours wildlife ambulance service (at night). If you live in the area and would like to volunteer, contact Lisa Bailey at IndigiScapes on 3824 8611. *Bayside Bulletin

Sharks

Monster sharks measuring up to 4m are lurking in Gold Coast waterways but anglers are being forced to release the giants or face hefty fines. The 11 shark nets and 38 baited drumlines set off the Gold Coast shoreline caught 37 sharks in 2009-10 and 16 were bigger than 2m. Since January three bull sharks, three white sharks, six long-nosed whalers, five scalloped hammerheads and five great hammerheads have been caught with shark prevention gear. The largest was a 3.9m great hammerhead caught at Burleigh in May and a 2.9m great hammerhead caught at Bilinga in February. Gold Coast fishing expert Paul Burt said there was no shortage of sharks in the city's waterways. "This year there have been strong reports of shark sightings, catches and large sizes," he said. "The nets are there for a reason and the statistics show they are working." *Gold Coast Bulletin

Penguins

A dog that went on a "murderous rampage" has mauled to death at least 15 penguins on Kangaroo Island in an attack locals say will have serious repercussions. A tourist found the bodies of 15 penguins strewn across a beach near Kingscote yesterday morning and alerted authorities. Kangaroo Island Penguin Centre Kingscote manager John Ayliffe said a dog was to blame for the attack. "It's a dog that's done it, they've just gone on a murderous rampage. "When a parent dies, one of the chicks does too because one bird can only look after one chick, so lots of penguins will die because of this." Mr Ayliffe estimates about 800 Little Blue Penguins live in a colony at Kingscote. Adelaide Now

Flying Foxes

An unusual species of flying fox was recently discovered in the Philippines not long after it was deemed not to exist. Jake Esselstyn, a biologist with the University of Kansas, was among a team of researchers that found the animal, a type of fruit bat, last year while surveying forest life on the island of Mindoro (see Philippines map). "When we first arrived on Mindoro, a local resident that we hired as a guide described the bat to me in great detail, and he asked me what it was called," Esselstyn said. "I politely told him that there was no such bat. I was wrong." Several days into the survey, the scientists accidentally captured a creature in a net that fit the guide's description: a large flying fox with bright orange fur and distinctive white stripes across its brow and jaw. "Our guide's description of the animal was quite accurate, and I had to apologize for not believing him," Esselstyn said, adding that the animal is now known as the Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat. In his own defense, the scientist pointed out that the species' closest known relative lives some 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) away on an island in Indonesia. "It makes you wonder if there are other related species on islands between [the two]," he said. "It also makes you realize how there are probably many more species which have yet to be discovered—in the Philippines and elsewhere," Esselstyn added. "This discovery emphasizes the need for a great deal more basic biodiversity inventory research." *National Geographic

Opposition MP Shane Knuth has told State Parliament that flying foxes continue to pose a safety risk at an emergency rescue helipad at Charters Towers in north Queensland. Local MP Shane Knuth, the Member for Dalrymple, told Parliament yesterday that Health Minister Paul Lucas was briefed earlier this year about the dangers of flying foxes. "That in addition to community health issues, an emergency helicopter flight was impeded from landing at Charters Towers because of a flying fox plague," he said. But Mr Lucas told the House the answer was not to shoot some and hope the rest do not return. "They are native animals - they don't stand up there and listen to reason," he said. "The brief didn't say, 'I want you to go out there and give them a good stern lecture'." Mr Lucas says the LNP does not have sensible solutions for dealing with wildlife. *ABC

Ed Comment; Both the Balcktown Sun and Bendigo Advertiser have featured negative stories about flying foxes this week. We haven't included them in Wildlfie Bytes because the stories were so stupid.

A James Cook University researcher is hoping to find out more about climate patterns in parts of Queensland's far north using bird and bat droppings. Dr Chris Wurster says droppings are one of the few resources available for measuring climate change in the wet tropics and semi-arid regions. He says by collecting insects, birds and bats act as mini-scientists. "They bring those insects that are representative of what's around back into the cave," he said. "We can look at the stable carbon isotypes, for example from the insects, from the exoskeletons of the insects that are preserved in the records. "The carbon isotypes will tell us whether there's - for example in the lowland rainforests - grasses or trees present, so we can look at vegetation changes in the past." He says in the wet tropics and semi-arid regions, droppings are one of the few resources available for measuring climate change. "We've just collected a couple of records from near Rockhampton and another from Chillagoe and we're just about to go to another site in Undarra," he said. *ABC

Asian ‘Unicorn' sighted

For the first time in more than ten years, there has been a confirmed sighting of one of the rarest and most enigmatic animals in the world, the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) from the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam. The Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (also known as Laos) has announced that in late August villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay captured a live Saola and brought it back to their village. The saola died shortly after being photograped, and a giant elephant-shrew species recently discovered in a remote African forest may be new to science. Conservationists researching the biodiversity of the Boni-Dodori forest on the coast of north-eastern Kenya were thrilled to capture pictures of the bizarre mammal. Camera traps were set up in the remote forest after Grace Wambui, a fellow of The Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) EDGE of Existence programme spotted an elusive elephant-shrew she didn't recognise in the area. ZSL and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) photographed the mystery animal and believe it may be a new species of giant sengi, otherwise known as an elephant-shrew (Macroscelidea). *Wildlife Extra
Read more http://www.wildlifeextra.com/

Tigers

The world’s biggest cat, the tiger, is now living out its life in about six percent of the available habitat it could be living in. This according to a new peer-reviewed paper by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups who have identified 42 source sites scattered across Asia that will be the last hope for conserving and hopefully recovering the tiger from the brink of extinction. The paper suggests that there are fewer than 3,500 tigers left in the wild, of which only 1,000 are breeding females. Of the sites located as important for the recovery of the species, India had 18 source sites, Sumatra 8 and the Russian Far East contains 6. Planetsave. Read more http://planetsave.com/2010/09/16/last-remaining-tigers-living-in-six-percent-of-available-habitat/

Bears

The fate of two bear cubs orphaned Thursday night when a Leavenworth-area man shot and killed their mother is unknown. Efforts Friday to place the cubs in one of two rehabilitation facilities in Washington failed because they were full, said Rich Beausoleil, bear and cougar specialist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Beausoleil said his agency has since made requests to place the cubs in facilities in other states, but those calls just went out this weekend, so officials didn't have any answers by Monday. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has had to find homes for 11 orphaned cubs since April around the state, after their mothers were killed, he said. If no facility can be found, the 35-pound cubs will have to be euthanized, he said. "It's just an overcrowding issue," Beausoleil said, adding, "We'll put in every effort." There are few facilities because of the time and space required to provide foster care for bears that are to be released back into the wild, he said. "You have to have no human contact, and keep the bears for five to six months. It takes an incredible amount of food and care, and not a lot of reward," he said. "It's not like a zoo. They're preparing these bears for release." At 8 months, the cubs are too young to survive in the wild by themselves, he said. *Seattle Times

Coal Seam Gas

We featured an article about CSG in last weeks Wildlife Bytes, but it now appears there are pipeline safety issues as well. The recent huge explosion in the US where houses were destroyed, and many people killed, is not the first time there have been problems in the US with pipeline gas. In the past 20 years there have 2840 significant pipeline accidents, inlcuding 992 explosions, where someone was killed or hospitalised. As the pipelines in Queensland will mostly follow roads, which lead into towns, there may be significant risk in towns which have the pipelines going through them. The pipes apparently have a life of only 50 years, and some less than that. Most US explosions have apparently occured through workers digging trenches for other utilities, and hitting the gas pipes, or through faulty joins. * WPAA

Kangaroo tourism

For those who haven't read it, there is an interesting document about wildlife tourism here http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/10072/24596/1/45354_1.pdf

Songbird at Risk

Wildlife officials say a wide-ranging prairie songbird has lost so much habitat to energy development that it warrants federal protections. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that the Sprague's pipit will have to wait for an Endangered Species Act listing. Other species have higher priority. The ground-nesting bird's population has declined by nearly 80 percent in the last four decades. Government biologists say oil, gas and wind energy projects have fragmented its breeding grounds. The Sprague's pipit breeds in the northern Great Plains and southern Canada and winters from Arizona and Texas to Louisiana, Mississippi and northern Mexico. The environmental group WildEarth Guardians had petitioned for it to be listed as threatened or endangered. * TexasNews

Mudlarks

When mudlarks attack! Danger in Exmouth, Western Australia from being attacked by mudlarks! Rangers and Shire offices setting traps for the birds in the forecourt pedestrian shopping areas of Exmouth town! The phenomena seems to be going on, unpublicised so as not to damage the tourism industry? Birds attacking people are not new to this area! Offices and local shops' staff are having difficulty in making the public (tourists) aware. *Crikey.com

Tin Can Bay Dolphins

An important ruling is about to take place in parliament that will greatly impact the community and environment of Tin Can Bay. So much so, that the whole of Australia has been called on to help protect it.
Carole Gillies, president of the Southern Sandy Straits Marine Environmental Group, said the battle to save one of the “few outstanding ecosystems” on Australia’s east coast had now escalated to a federal issue. She said Tin Can Bay was host to a “unique, unspoiled and special” habitat for threatened species, including the Indo Pacific humpback, which was in danger of being destroyed by a “powerful developer’s” plans to build a large marina right in the middle of it. Ms Gillies called on all Australians to “click and save Tin Can Bay” by visiting www.marina.tincanbaydolphins.com.au. She stressed the importance of acting immediately during this “small window off opportunity” environmental groups had to secure the site for wildlife. “Cutting through the thick weave of daily information is not an easy thing to do... (Which is why) we’ve made it easier for people to put pressure on the government to reject the developer’s plans,” she said.

“Cooloola’s pending World Heritage Listing status may be compromised if newly appointed Environment Minister Tony Burke approves the development of (this) large marina. At this final hour, we hope to create a momentum that involves Australians in this very important decision.” Since 2004 the Cooloola Coast community has banded together in the fight against the Seymour Group’s marina development proposal for Norman Point. When the plans became public, more than 5000 signatures in protest were collected in just a few months and the matter became one of national significance because of the marina’s potential impact on threatened and migratory species. “This is a nationally important marine wilderness – we need to make that clear. We don’t have to recover it unlike nearby Moreton Bay. It’s in a pristine state with outstanding biodiversity values,” Ms Gillies said. “The development of a marina will create irreversible damage. We have fought the developer and State Government for the last five years and now we’re asking Australians to lend their voice to help protect Tin Can Bay and its vitally important inhabitants.

“The area is unique, unspoiled and special – a perfect habitat for species that are threatened all over the world and we need to make a stand and save some critical habitat for them.” A family of Indo Pacific humpback dolphins has been visiting Norman Point at Tin Can Bay since the 1950s and after four generations, they still swim up to people standing in knee deep water – at a spot earmarked for a boardwalk by the developer. *Gympie Times. Click to save the Bay at http://www.marina.tincanbaydolphins.com.au.





Flying Foxes

Fed-up teachers at a northern NSW school claim they are being told to stop ringing the school bell, not hold sport days and plan different class times so they do not upset an influx of 20,000 flying foxes. Staff at Maclean High School say their school has been taken over by the small noisy animals. They say bat droppings, which students then spread throughout classrooms, have made the school a health and safety risk. Maclean High teacher and NSW Teacher's federation representative John Ambrose said the foul smell and screeching by the bats forces teachers to close windows - making class rooms "unbearable" and learning for students difficult. "The kids are put off ... and the smell is just repulsive," he said. "The smell is, particularly in wet weather, just foul and the car park and carpets are just splattered with droppings and let me tell you, they are not steam cleaned every day, they are cleaned once a year." But attempts to move the bats have so far been unsuccessful.

The NSW Department of Education, who removed the bats 10 years ago, need a licence and federal government approval to remove them again. Mr Ambrose said the federal government has since spent about $30,000 to form a committee to advise the school how to approach the problem. He said the initial recommendations, which are yet to be formally accepted, tell the school "to work around the bats". "They want us to timetable our classes differently, they don't want us to do sporting events, they don't want us to ring our bell, they want us to minimise our voices so we don't disturb the bats," he said. "And I understand all DET (Department of Education and Training) can do, and they have been great, is put a sprinkler in a tree. "But this is the health and wellbeing of students at risk here."

It's got so bad, he says, that the teachers plan to strike on Friday morning. He said students previously walked out of classrooms in a stop-work organised by the school's parent committee. An education department spokesman said they are "working hard to resolve the flying foxes issue". "We have installed air-conditioners in classrooms and built covered walkways to help protect students and staff," he said. "We have made application to the state and commonwealth agencies for the further removal of some trees and tree limbs which could harbour flying foxes near the school. We are awaiting the outcome of this application. "The department has been advised of the potential for a stop-work meeting. However, this is yet to be confirmed by staff at the school. We have not been formally advised of a stop-work meeting." SMH
Ed Comment; The bats were there first, they should never have built the scholl there in the first place. Perhaps they should build a new school 40 or 50 kilometers out of town...well away from the bats.....

Kangaroo Kiiled by Students

Three Australian students have been suspended from school after police say they beat a kangaroo with a steel pole, killing it. A police spokeswoman told the Geelong Advertiser newspaper one student was cautioned after the alleged attack on the animal, while two others have yet to be spoken to by police. The kangaroo was killed while the students were at Great Otway National Park in Anglesea on Sept. 8 for a school trip. The students are from a school in Torquay, located on the eastern shore of the country in Queensland. School administration posted a letter to parents on the school's website Friday. "Our school community is deeply upset," the letter said, which also announced the three students have been suspended. "While the police are investigating this incident we are unable to comment on details other than to say we are taking the matter extremely seriously and cooperating with the police investigation."

"We will be seeking advice from the police and the RSPCA before further addressing the incident with the students and their parents," the statement said. It was signed by principal Pam Kinsman, assistant principal Janeen McCullough and assistant Nick Lynch. They also asked parents to talk about the kangaroo's death at home. "When talking to your children about this issue we ask that you speak honestly and remind your children that Torquay College is a safe, supportive learning environment with a strong student welfare focus," the statement said. "It is important to explain that actions have consequences and that it is possible to restore trust and good relationships after events like this." * TorontoSun

Pigmy Possums

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife has partnered with Australian Geographic and Paddy Pallin stores to save Australia’s only alpine marsupial, the Mountain Pygmy-possum. The possum’s dilemma occurs above the winter snowline in areas of southern NSW and north-eastern Victoria where snowline is receding with global warming. The three groups are participating in a Mountain Pygmy-possum captive breeding program for re-introduction to occupied sites in case of catastrophic decline. The program will also provide animals to experimentally introduce into areas of alpine habitat currently unoccupied and explore the possibility of adaptation to warmer climates. Leonie Gale, Foundation CEO said on National Threatened Species Day (September 7) that our animals were relying on us as human impacts on the environment were causing changes never before experienced.

‘‘Many of our unique species are in a life and death struggle for survival,’’ she said. “The rate of change is not giving some species a chance to adapt, so they need our assistance to be around for our grandchildren to meet. ‘‘Captive breeding and subsequent re-introduction programs of threatened species has been a successful tool for conservation. “The recovery of the Lord Howe Island’s Woodhen is one of our proudest success stories where its population recovered from just 33 individuals to a thriving population of over 250.’’ For more information contact Susanna Bradshaw on 02-9221 1949 or email sbradshaw@fnpw.org.au. *Blacktown Sun

Kangaroos

Multi-award winning songwriter joins EU Campaign to help save baby kangaroos. A limited and exclusive edition CD has been created to help raise funds for the campaign to have kangaroo products banned across the EU. 440,000 baby kangaroos are brutally killed every year after the mothers are shot for profit, using her meat and skin in what has been described as the biggest land wildlife massacre on the planet. Maria Daines, the multi-award winning international vocalist and songwriter, who has been described as a mix between Janis Joplin and Melissa Etheridge with a dash of Gretchen Wilson, is the latest person to join the EU campaign to have kangaroo products banned from Europe. In support of the plight of kangaroos in Australia, Maria has co-written a new song highlighting the horrendous way these sentient animals are treated in their native country.

Maria recently said:-“Ending the trade in kangaroo products would end an immense amount of suffering for these amazing and beautiful creatures. When I found out what was happening to the kangaroo I shed a tear and knew I must voice my distress and concern by writing a song. My guitarist and producer Paul Killington is equally appalled by the slaughter of the kangaroo and together we hope we can raise the profile of the campaign by sharing a musical message that shows we care and we want this killing stopped.” No stranger to the cruel way in which the human race treats animals, Maria has supported US artist Pink at Cardiff International Arena for the Party For Animals World Wide in August 2007, and helped raise £90,000 for animal welfare charities.

Dr Teresa Buss-Carden from The World League for Protection of Animals (WLPA) who originally contacted Maria about Australia’s kangaroo killings, said: "We are thrilled that Maria Daines has lent her powerful voice in support of the 440,000 EU campaign. Her song, “Killing your own”, reflects the unspeakable tragedy which occurs every night in Australia. We are killing our own icon, we are killing our spirit of Australia. We believe that Maria's courageous stand for the millions of baby kangaroos decapitated, bashed or left to die from starvation or predation will encourage many other people from all over the world to join this campaign. She sends a powerful message: It is time to stop the massacre of baby kangaroos!” AWPC - EU Campaign Director Philip Woolley commented: "This CD brings home the message that killing kangaroos is wrong. More so killing baby kangaroos is totally unacceptable and must stop. We have tried reasoning with the industry in Australia but they are intent on continuing killing these babies and so it is to the outside world and particularly the EU to put an end to this slaughter. This CD is in limited supply only 1000 World wide and will become a "must have" item. We are over the moon with Maria's support." Maria added: “We must ask ourselves: will the amazing kangaroo, the icon and emblem of Australia, become another victim of mankind's wish to kill everything that lives wild and free?” Maria Daines’s powerful song paying tribute to kangaroos can be obtained from:-

AWPC:- http://www.awpc.org.au/awpc.php?australian_wildlife_protection_council=4

WLPA:- https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=O63JFwWgb44dkLbRKQCCgfgIaRsh8fE_3XBAm4lvflPn1c6jvO1FPH4sJEO&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8dc18bca4c6f47e633fcf61b288f5ebea2

440,000 campaign:- http://www.change.org/awpc/petitions/view/call_for_support_to_ban_kangaroo_products_in_eu *440,000 campaign: Media Release

Locusts

State Government officers have sprayed a 5km-wide locust swarm so thick it looked like a dust storm. Biosecurity Queensland principal officer Graham Hardwick said the swarm would have held millions of spur-throated locusts. "You can see it rolling towards you," he said yesterday. "It's just like the cloud you get from a road train rolling down a dusty road. It's anybody's guess how many were in it but it was about 1km deep." Mr Hardwick said the aerial spraying was conducted around Twin Hills, north of Clermont. The swarms were sprayed on Friday and flight data would be checked today to see how successful the operation had been and if more locusts were nearby. Swarms of about 1sq km also had been recorded near Cunnamulla, Blackall and Barcaldine. Biosecurity Queensland officer Duncan Swan said the swarm north of Clermont was one of the largest recorded since two of a similar size west of Blackall about two months ago. "There's probably a few more swarms out there so we're going out Tuesday to try to find them," he said.

The Australian Plague Locust Commission expects swarms to continue into November and December, with the Barcaldine-Blackall and Tambo-Charleville areas hardest hit. Swarms also have been recorded in the Thargomindah-Cunnamulla and Bollon areas. A total of 109 swarms covering more than 26,000 ha were sprayed from June to August. There also were reports of swarms in the Hughenden, Winton, Richmond and Julia Creek areas in the northwest as well as in the Thargomindah-Cunnamulla area of the Bulloo and Paroo shires. The commission also expects swarms in the Gulf of Carpentaria and in Murweh, Balonne and Paroo shires in south and central Queensland. Mr Hardwick said the chemical killed any insect in its path so spraying was limited to areas where it was most effective. A 14-day withholding period was in force for stock in sprayed paddocks. Locust breeding usually starts in November and December in Queensland but could occur earlier if rain continues. *Courier Mail

Ed Comment; Many people have expressed concern on Internet and media forums about the spraying, the impact on wildlife from the spray itself, and the impact of birds and other wildlife eating poisoned locusts. Not to mention the impact on people from spray on roofs going into water tanks, and in creeks and dams. Ibis populations particularly, are likely to by impacted by consuming the poisoned locusts. Poisons recommended to be used to kill locusts are; biologicals containing metarhizium fungus, organophosphate and carbamate insecticides containing fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, maldison (malathion) or carbaryl, phenylpyrazole insecticides containing fipronil, and synthetic pyrethroid insecticides containing cypermethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, beta-cyfluthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin. All have various witholding periods for meat (beef and sheep) consumption. Kangaroos of course, range throughout the sprayed areas, and are killed for human consumption, even though they have eaten grass that has been sprayed with poison. We raised this issue with the Federal Government a few years ago when large locust swarms were sprayed, but noaction was taken.

Climate Change

Adelaide will be without metropolitan beaches within 60 years, one of the world's leading climate geologists has warned. In Adelaide for a national coastal management conference, American geologist Professor Orrin Pilkey said rising sea levels would encroach on developed coastal areas. But he said that rather than relocating the "powerful" people who lived on the city's esplanades, sea walls would likely be built, resulting in the loss of beaches. "Sea level rise is going to be the first major negative impact of global warming, because all the coastal cities in the world, which have many millions of people, will be affected, including this one," he said. "If we are looking at 1.4m sea level rises by 2100 - the beaches here will be in trouble in about 40 to 60 years from now." Prof Pilkey, one of America's most vocal coastal geologists, said to preserve beaches for the general public, property would have to be demolished and people relocated.

"If this nation is going to respond to sea level rises, they must take the control out of the hands of local people because local people understandably will want to protect their property and hold the shoreline in place," he said. "We don't have to look at it as a catastrophe, we should look at it as a challenge, and we should be responding now." Prof Pilkey blamed the coal and oil industries for propagating misinformation about climate change. "I think these people are doing our society, the world ... a huge disfavour," he said. "But this argument will end, there is no question about that, it will end when we have a bunch of cities around the world in real trouble." Prof Pilkey, who is from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University in North Carolina, will address the Coast to Coast conference in Adelaide tomorrow. He will discuss the issue of coastal management, and other related issues, with more than 250 delegates from around the country. * Adelaide News

Wild Introduced Animal Kill

Parks, beaches and reserves in NSW will shut down from this week as wildlife experts cull animals with a taste for endangered species. Authorities will bait, trap and shoot ravens and foxes that are hunting freshly hatched endangered chicks and the vulnerable long-nosed potoroos in more than 50 reserves statewide. Trained dogs have been brought in to sniff out fox dens and soft jaw traps will be laid near beach nurseries in a bid to protect shore birds, including little terns, pied oystercatchers and hooded plovers which nest in the sand. Ravens will be shot and their nests will be destroyed. Signs will be posted to keep people out of reserves, a Shoalhaven Council spokeswoman said, to protect chicks and eggs from predators. "Within a couple of weeks, almost all beaches will have intense nesting and chick caring by our local beach nesting birds," the spokeswoman said. "Baiting will continue throughout the summer until the chicks are out of danger."

Feral goats and pigs are being hunted from the air in 19 reserves in western NSW starting from today while wild dogs are the target in 13 forest reserves on the Northern Rivers and in the upper Blue Mountains. "Feral goats and pigs are significant threats to conservation," National Parks and Wildlife Service regional pest management officer Jason Neville said. "They invade native wildlife habitat, including that of ground-nesting birds and displace them." Poisoned carrots have been laid to kill rabbits in Sydney suburbs, with numbers booming in Hornsby, The Hills, Pittwater and Campbelltown. Hornsby Mayor Nick Berman said the cull was needed because rabbits were digging trip holes in parks and sporting fields.

"They cause depressions in the ground and that affects us as a matter of liability [if people fall down a rabbit hole] while the big danger is to native species," he said. Even the true-blue Aussies cannot escape the cull - eastern and western grey kangaroos are being "harvested" in western NSW, with another proposed cull set for the Hume. A cockatoo cull set for Sydney's CBD was abandoned at the 11th hour. Residents are on high alert after the dreaded cane toad was discovered in Sydney's southwest. *Daily Telegraph

Ed. Comment; Shoalwater Bay Army Area was also targeted in secret last week. An aerial kill by helicopter was held, specifically targeting wild cows, horses, pigs, cats, foxes. When the ABC tried to get comment from Defence about the kill, they refused to comment.

Wildlife Websites of Interest

Something Wild is a NON GOVERNMENT FUNDED, PRIVATE rehabilitation and conservation wildlife sanctuary for orphaned and injured animals in Tasmania. They nurture our native wildlife back to good health and prepare them for eventual release. Something Wild also has a number of habitats for animals that are unsuitable for release or may have been bred in captivity where visitors may enjoy viewing these special animals. It's a great place to see wild platypus. http://www.somethingwild.com.au

This web page is truly a collective effort for the conservation and protection of Dingoes in the wild and in human cohabitation - with all areas of care and related issues connecting to the Dingo being our prime concern. http://www.wadingo.com/

Based in Nth Queensland, this wildlife carer group have rescued, rehabilitated and released over 100 orphaned and/or injured Joeys. There have been a lot of success stories, but alas, some tragedies as well. Raising an orphaned Joey is no short term feat. The average timeframe associated from when a Joey is received until it is ready for release is about 7-9 months. http://www.wallabyrescue.com.au/