"Wallaby" wrote in message
...
Just read your posts mate, you're a good man - just hope you are penning
letters to rural newspapers to educate the rest of the landholders!
Keep up the good speak!
Cheers, Wallaby


Wallaby,

Thanks for the high praise; I'll have a time getting my head through
thedoorway from all the swelling!

I have written to the odd rural newspaper, but not for a while. I do tend to
read them, and reply if I think I have something constructive to say.

I was probably not as tactfull as I could have been with the person from the
UK re the cat issue. The attitude (and ignorance) concerned me.

Most of the Landholders in my area (CW QLD) are reasonably conscious of
their environment. We have good people in our local Dept Natural Resources
& Parks & Wildlife, and this helps people keep enthusiastic about native
flora & fauna. Most people around here on the land see the health of their
local ecology as important enough to care about it. We are also starting to
gain awareness that our little patch of turf is part of a larger picture,
and we have to keep this in mind when operating.

However, every so often I am amazed by people who demonstrate they know
little about the 'locals' whom they live with. I got a phonecall one night
during heavy rain Mid-Jan from neighbours, who thought they had a Cane
Toad(their first). Description of the call(a plaintive yapping), and the
posture of the little fellow suggested it was our local Striped Burrowing
Frog (Litoria Alboguttata). Once they knew it was a local, they were out
there making sure he could find his way to the creeks.
I ran across this same ignorance when staying with friends in Brisbane one
time. They lived in Morningside, and I went on a frog hunt in their back
yard at night. I was astonished to find 5 different species of frog in a
yard 60 feet by 30 feet, as well as the insidious Cane Toad. I thought the
Cane Toad and humans would have killed off most of them. What concerned me
was the people had been seeing the beautiful little Ornate Burrowing frogs,
and assuming they were young Cane Toads. Luckily, they had done nothing
about it, but it was obvious they were contemplating lowering the Cane Toad
population at some stage. They had good intention, but would have been doing
more harm than good if they didnt spend the time identifying what they were
seeing. A short identification session was held that night to make them a
bit more discerning...

It surprises me how few people keep reference books of local flora and
fauna. Over time, though, people seem to be coming more aware of what they
have in their back yard, and what they should be helping rather than
hurting. I just hope that we continue this trend of seeing the wonders all
around us.

Our reference books here include the following:

Simpson & Day; Birds of Australia
Field Guide to Birds of Australia
Field Guide to Insects of Australia
Cogger: Reptiles & Amphibians of Australia
Field Guide to Australian Frogs
Australian Spiders
Dangerous Snakes of Australia
Snakes of Australia (Dangerous and non-dangerous)
Lizards of Australia
Plants of Western NSW (Most of it applies here)
A book produced by our local plant specialist for this area.
A number of native plant books on growing them.

This reference list could always be added to to improve it, but it covers
most of what we encounter.

My other big concern is when I see an animal doing something the books say
it doesnt do, there doesnt seem to be any avenue to let an expert know. All
the books I have on lizards say that the only nocturnal skink in Australia
is the Broad-banded Sand Swimmer. If this is true, then our shingle-back
lizard has a really wicked problem with sleep-walking, and he is getting
fatter every night!
One day I might find a few contacts that I can let know if I see an animal
doing something out of the ordinary.

Having said all this, I am no saint when it comes to preserving life. I have
shot more than my share of roos over the years, although I would say they
have all been for good reasons. I am yet to find a way to pull a 6-foot
kangaroo out of a dam he is bogged in, and not get myself maimed in the
process. They dont take well to humans....
For some reason, a number of neighbours who have rescued roos from boggy
dams say there is a high mortality rate when you get them out. A lot of
them seem to go into shock and die on the spot. One neighbour said he had
his best result if he was able to wash the mud off them with a firefighter
pump, as this seemed to take the roo's mind off the whole ordeal.
Unfortunately, we dont often check dams with a firefighter ready to go on
the back of the vehicle.

I'm also prepared to make the call if I find an animal in pain or suffering,
when I have no way of treating it. I dont make this decision lightly, but it
doesnt take long to work through the possible options. I would rather be the
callous barstard that put a bullet through the head of a roo with a broken
leg, rather than have a crow come peck an eye out while he is slowly dying
in pain.
Personally, I hate crows. I know they are natives, but they are heartless,
nasty natives related to cockroaches in some past life...They are also very
smart...

And finally, a little example of survival of the fittest I saw a few years
ago. We were walking sheep along a fenceline, and the Kite Hawks tend to
follow the sheep to catch any grasshoppers, lizards, quails, etc flushed out
from the mob. I saw a Black Kite swoop, and start flying away with a fairly
large Bearded Dragon (Lizard) in his talons. Unfortunately, the kite had
grabbed it around the middle, and the lizard was severely displeased, and
able to move his head. Mr lizard swung his head around and latched onto a
leg of the hawk, and proceeded to chew his way through it.
Having been bitten by a number of these lizards over the years, I
sympathised with the hawk.
The steady flapping of the wings suddenly faltered, as the pilot realised he
had an unruly passenger downstairs. As the dragon started chomping, there
was a fair bit of pecking from the hawk to encourage the dragon to let go.
All to little effect; the dragons head is well armoured. By this stage, the
flapping had stopped, and they were into a shallow dive while the hawk tried
to subdue an angry dinner. The flight profile of the hawk steadily worsened,
as the lizard got a better grip. Finally, the hawk let go the lizard (and
hopefully keep both legs), but the lizard wasnt done yet. He was hanging
onto the hawk solely by his jaws, and he was still trying to get a bit of
poultry into his diet. The dive was steepening, the pecking was getting more
frantic, and the lizard was chomping for all he was worth.
When they were down to about 25 feet above the ground, the lizard let go,
hit the ground, and dissappeared in a sandy blur amongst the grass. The
kite hawk remembered to start flying the plane again, and shakily flapped
away to find less agressive prey.
I had to award the lizard full marks for his determination...

Cheers, and thanks again.

Rod......Out Back