Tag Archive for 'Wildlife'

On Walkabout At: Tasmania’s Natureworld

Published on May 5, 2010 in Tasmania. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Prior Posting: Australia’s Island State of Tasmania

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When we reached the east coast of Tasmania the weather turned quite dreary and raining off and on.  As we drove down the coast we noticed a wildlife park just outside the city of Bicheno that we decided to go check out.  The park was called Natureworld and was located along a nice lagoon and seemed to be well maintained:

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Natureworld turned out to be quite an expansive, family friendly wildlife park that we had a great time checking out:

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The park is run by British man with his family who after one visit to Tasmania fell in love with the island:

There is much to love about Tasmania and the wildlife is definitely one of its strong points.  Unsurprisingly the first wildlife we saw at Natureworld was a mob of kangaroos:

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The kangaroos were eager to get some food pellets from visitors that the park personnel were handing out:

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The kids we saw with their parents had a great time playing with the kangaroos.  I can’t wait to one day bring my daughter here because I’m sure she would have a great time as well.  However, I would be worried about letting her get to close to the kangaroos considering how large their claws are:

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These claws I’m sure could do some serious damage:

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My wife and I have seen plenty of kangaroos hanging around our home in Victoria, but we never get tired of seeing them even at wildlife parks.  However, this cute little wombat was probably my wife’s favorite animal in the entire park:

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The park also had this albino pademelon, which is the first time I had ever seen any albino marsupial in Australia:

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Here is how the pademelons normally look:

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These pademelons are now extinct on the mainland, but remain common in Tasmania.  The next little animals we looked at are not mice, but yet another species of marsupials:

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Natureworld also has a large Tasmanian Tiger Snake holding area as well:

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This is the same type of snake that earlier in the day scared the crap out of us along a hiking trail.  These snakes are huge, mean looking, and highly venomous:

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However, for being such mean looking snakes they are actually pretty passive with one of the park employees walking inside the enclosure unafraid of being bitten by the snakes.  He walked around with a bucket feeding the snakes with small chicks to eat:

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The park employee said that the snakes don’t bite him because they are used to his smell and know that he isn’t a danger.  He said if any of the park visitors tried to climb in with him the snakes would be startled because the snakes are not used to that person’s smell.  This could cause them to become defensive and potentially bite someone.  I don’t think the guy in the park had to worry about anyone jumping into that snake enclosure though.

I forget what these birds were called but they had greenish beaks and the park guide said that they were endangered and only small amount of them remain in Tasmania:

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The park also had a number of these large pelicans that the park guide would throw food at that they would catch:

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The pelicans actually know the schedule of the park guide and we watched them come flying in on time to get their morning meal.  My wife and I went around and saw many more colorful birds such as this collection of cockatoos:

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Here were some other colorful birds found at the park:

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As nice as all these animals were, we really enjoyed the park’s Tasmanian Devils:

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The park’s owners raised these devil’s from when they were very little because their mom was hit by a car. So they think of the park operators as their parents:

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The park operators told us that the devils are very smart and it is healthy for them to have to work to find their food.  So they would hide the food under rocks and in other hard to reach places in order to keep them thinking:

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Of course whenever they found the food the devils like the meat eaters they are would quickly eat the meat

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The only wildlife park we liked better than Natureworld in Australia was the Healsville Animal Sanctuary in Victoria, which is a much larger operation than this family run business.  However, if ever visiting Tasmania Natureworld is well worth stopping by and checking out.  We ended up spending most of the day at the park enjoying having close interaction with all the wildlife.

Next Posting: Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

Friday Eco-Fact: How Aggressive are Tasmanian Devils?

Published on May 29, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Slate’s Christopher Beam answers a readers question on if Tasmanian Devils are as aggressive as the Looney Tunes character:

A rapidly spreading, deadly facial tumor virus has killed off 70 percent of the wild population of Tasmanian devils, leading the Australian government
to designate the creature “endangered” on Friday. The world’s most
famous Tasmanian devil, the character Taz from Looney Tunes, is
aggressive and excitable. Are the real ones like that, too?

Yes, especially when feeding. Although devils do hunt other
animals—wallabies, possums, and wombats are especially
attractive—they’re primarily scavengers. They scavenge in groups of
five to 12, possibly because it’s easier to pull apart a carcass
together than alone. The competition for limited resources makes each
devil highly protective of its share of the food. While eating, they
emit a blood-curdling screech and nip at one another’s faces, often drawing blood.

Mating
is also a violent process. Males fight over females, and whoever wins
grabs the female by the scruff of her neck and drags her back to a den,
where they mate. (Watch two male devils fight over a female here.)
The male must then defend the female during her 21-day gestation
period, lest other males come and try to mate with her, too. The babies
also have to fight one another—female devils give birth to 40 or 50
young every season, all of whom must compete for their mother’s four
teats. [Slate]

Make sure to read the rest.  

The Tasmanian Devil like most of the wildlife in Australia is a marsupial meaning that it reproduces and nurtures its young inside of a pocket.  It is also the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.  It used to be the second largest until the Thylacine otherwise known as a Tasmanian Tiger went extinct in 1936.  Another interesting fact about the devils is that they have the strongest bite of any mammal because of its need to break bones when feeding.  

The devils are currently only found on the island of Tasmania though they once populated mainland Australia up to 400 years ago.  It is expected that the devils went extinct on the mainland due to competition for food from the Australian dingo that was introduced to the mainland by Indonesian traders 3,500 years ago.  The fact that the devils are only found on the small island of Tasmania means is what makes the facial tumor disease so dangerous to the species. 

The devil facial tumor spreads from one devil to another when they bite at each other faces while feeding in packs.  The disease then spreads to the neck of the devil where it then suffocates to death.  It is really quite a cruel way to die.  There is so far no cure for the disease that has killed roughly 50% of the devil population on Tasmania.  About 65% of the island has been infected with the disease with only the remote western area of the island free from the disease.  No one knows for sure what caused the virus, but it is suspected that the disease was started from devils foraging in trash cans. The devils immune system were not able to respond to the virus because of the lack of genetic diversity in the devils due to their isolation on Tasmania.

This disease hasn’t stopped the usual global warming alarmists from claiming that climate change is killing the Tasmanian Devils:

Through our growing numbers, our thirst for natural resources and, most
of all, climate change — which, by one reckoning, could help carry off
20% to 30% of all species before the end of the century — we’re shaping
an Earth that will be biologically impoverished. A 2008 assessment by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that nearly 1
in 4 mammals worldwide was at risk for extinction, including endangered
species like the famous Tasmanian devil.  [TIME]

It is incredible to me that a major news magazine like TIME could print such blatant propaganda as this.  This is just another perfect example of how the global warming alarmists are obscuring legitimate environmental issues such as the one facing the devils with their misinformation. 

While the alarmist continue their activities the real environmentalists are working hard to save the devils.  To prevent extinction of the species populations of the devils that are free of disease have been moved to the Australian mainland to be kept in zoos and animal sanctuaries such as the Healsville Animal Sanctuary in Victoria. 

The devils are on the verge of extinction, but lets hope that the work of both conservationists and scientists will be able to save this incredibly unique part of Australia’s biodiversity. 

On Walkabout Video: Kangaroo Boxing

Published on May 25, 2009 in New South Wales. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Here is a video I shot near Tom Groggin Station in Australia’s Snowy Mountains of two kangaroos fighting each other:

Friday Eco-Fact: Australia’s Incredible Monotremes

Published on May 22, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

When one thinks of mammals people generally think ones that give birth to live young. These types mammals are known as eutherians, however there actually two more types of mammals; marsupials and monotremes, which are mostly only found in Australia. Marsupials are mammals that give birth to their young in a pocket, such as a kangaroo. The monotremes on the other hand are mammals that give birth to their young by laying eggs. There are only two monotreme species left the duck billed platypus and the echidna which there are actually four different subspecies of. Each of these monotremes can only be found in Australia and New Guinea.

The peculiar way monotremes reproduce is what causes many scientist to believe that the monotremes may be the oldest type of mammal in existence. Many scientists believe that the first mammals evolved from reptiles and that monotremes are left overs from this natural evolution. However, why didn’t these mammals evolve like the rest? It is cannot be proven why the echidna and platypus survived, but many scientists believe it is because these two species had no natural competition for the food sources they rely on. The echidnas eat ants, which are in abundance in Australia while the platypus eats insects, mollusks, and yabbies that are commonly found in Australia’s waterways.

Some other unusual characteristics of monotremes beside egg laying is that they have no teats to nurse their young from like other mammals. These monotremes however do secrete milk from two circular patches on their bellies that their babies lick from. An even more unusual trait is that both the echidna and platypus have a poisonous spur on their hind foot.  In the case of the echidna this spur cannot harm anyone since it is now inactive, but in the case of the platypus it can still use its stinger which has enough poison to kill a small dog and cause severe pain in a human.

The monotremes despite their non-mammalian features actually share plenty of similar characteristics with their mammal cousins. The monotremes can grow fur and regulate their body temperature like other mammals. But it is the differences of the monotremes that will forever make them a unique part of Australia’s incredible biodiversity.

Picture of the Day: Python Eats Cockie

Published on May 10, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

From the Townsville Bulletin.

Only Two Beached Whales in Tasmania Remain Alive

Published on January 24, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Sad news from Tasmania in regards to the recent beaching of 43 whales there:

A pod of about 50 whales, mostly mothers and calves, beached themselves on Perkins Island, north-west of Tasmania on Thursday night.

Marine biologists and Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife staff spent Friday on the island trying to save the seven whales still alive.

Two died on Friday afternoon and another three overnight.

Marine biologist David Penberton said the situation is “very negative but very positive”.

“It’s bad because there are so many animals dead but good because there are two alive who are floating at high tide,” Mr Pemberton said this morning.

“They are just bobbing in the water amongst the dead whales.”

Rescuers will now look at an action plan and work on trying to get the pair out to sea.

That is unlikely to happen until later on today or tomorrow morning.

“I can’t put a time limit on it right now, it’s a long way off because at this stage we are assessing it and looking at the best way to go about and set them out to sea.”  [AAP]

Rescuers in Tasmania Try to Save Beached Whales

Published on January 23, 2009 in Tasmania and Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

For whatever reason beaching of whales on Tasmania continues to be a problem:

No hope ... 43 whales died in a mass stranding off the northwest tip of Tasmania / Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife

RESCUERS are battling the odds to save five sperm whales that survived a mass stranding on the northwest tip of Tasmania.

Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Liz Wren said four staff members had made their way in a dinghy to Perkins Island, near the mouth of the Duck River at Smithton, where 48 whales beached themselves last night.

“They are stabilising the five surviving whales and are monitoring them until the next high tide due this afternoon, which will give them an opportunity to rescue them,” Ms Wren said.

She said the area where the whales had stranded themselves was treacherous, with numerous sandbars making navigation difficult.

She said some of the surviving whales were up 18m long.

Department of Primary Industries and Water spokesman Warwick Brennan said sperm whales were the “lords of the sea”.

“They weigh up to 50 tonnes and have a lot of blubber so they easily overheat,” he told The Mercury. [News.com]

Just a couple of months ago 64 whales were found beached on Tasmania as well.  The first beaching happened near Stanley, Tasmania with this one happening at Perkins Island just a short distance to the west:

Locations of whales beached in Northwest Tasmania.

The Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland is known for its treacherous currents.  I wonder if the beaching of whales that continues to happen regularly in Australia has anything to do with the current that flow through the Strait that possibly the whales use to help navigate?

Sydney’s Loneliest Camel

Published on January 19, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A camel in Sydney is looking for a friend after losing its mom:

SHE may be able to get by without water for long periods of time, but surviving without her mum has been much harder for Jessica the camel.

When her mother died last year Jessica, who lives in a paddock at the Sydney Skydiving Centre near Picton in New South Wales, laid beside her grave for several days.

She refused to eat and her condition deteriorated, eventually losing her teeth.

The centre’s concerned owner, Phil Onis, tried to find a home for the animal, but when he couldn’t staff decided it would be best to put her down. But as soon as Jessica saw the RSPCA rifle, she bolted.

“The RSPCA couldn’t get anywhere near it,” Mr Onis said.

“It suddenly became a lot better after that.”

While locals now feed her carrots, bread and apples on a daily basis, they are worried she is lonely and needs a companion.

“We have been told it’s best if she can be with other camels,” Mr Onis said.

Jessica and her mother were originally brought to Sydney from Alice Springs about 25 years ago by a previous owner of the centre.

Marina Wright, who also works at the centre, said she has “cried buckets” worrying about Jessica.

“She’s so special, she’s a real good girl,” she said.

“We all love her.”

Ms Wright said Jessica and her mum had always just been there and were well-known among locals.

“It was always the two of them.

“It would be nice if someone had an old donkey or something, just so she has company,” she said.  [The Daily Telegraph]

Friday Eco-Fact: Australia’s Lesbian Koalas?

Published on January 9, 2009 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I was searching around the web today and stumbled upon this weird piece of information concerning Australian koalas:

Female koalas indulge in lesbian “sex sessions”, rejecting male suitors and attempting to mate with each other, sometimes up to five at a time, according to researchers.

The furry, eucalyptus-eating creatures appear to develop this tendency for same-sex liaisons when they are in captivity. In the wild, they remain heterosexual.

Scientists monitoring the marsupials with digital cameras counted three homosexual interactions for every heterosexual one.

“Some females rejected the advances of males that were in their enclosures, only to become willing participants in homosexual encounters immediately after,” say the researchers.

“On several occasions more than one pair of females shared the same pole, and multiple females mounted each other simultaneously. At least one multiple encounter involved five female koalas.

“One theory put forward by the researchers is that the females do it to attract males; another is that it is simply hormonal, or that it is a stress reliever. [NZ Herald]

Obviously these scientists from the University of Queensland have nothing better to do with their time.

Python Tries to Swallow Entire Wallaby

Published on November 9, 2008 in Wildlife. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Check out this picture on an Australian python trying to swallow an entire wallaby:

A PYTHON has been filmed trying and failing to swallow whole what looks like a wallaby.  In the video taken by Tanja Stark and posted on break.com,  people at James Cook University can be heard squealing as the python clamps its jaws around the creature and begins to swallow.  But the snake seems to realise it is biting off more than it can chew and is forced to back away and regurgitate the upper half of the animal’s body.

Andrew Krockenberger, associate professor at James Cook University, said he ran out to watch the attack with some students after being alerted by a co-worker.

“Our lab co-ordinator came in from the car park and told us there was a python trying to eat a wallaby – so we all went out to have a look,” he said.

“While seeing sakes and wallabies isn’t unusual, it was very unusual to see a snake trying to eat a wallaby on the side of a road.”

Prof Krockenberger said the python made several attempts to consume the wallaby before the incident was caught on camera.

“It was a very small python and it gave up after a while. It had a good try but it was a little over ambitious,” he said.

“I don’t know whether it would have managed to swallow the wallaby if there hadn’t had been so many people watching. I think it got a little spooked.  [News.com]

Video of the snake trying to eat the wallaby is available at the link as well.  The python is actually pretty small compared to other ones I have seen in Australia, but it still came pretty close to being able to swallow that entire wallaby.  Pretty incredible.