Chels for Nature

Birds of Peru

2009-12-17T21:36:00.001+11:00

Inca Tern. This photo was released into the public domain by its author, Arpingstone
Move over Dusky Woodswallow, this may be my new favourite bird - or pretty close to, anyway: the photo above is of an Inca Tern. Some birds are just beak and feathers above others.

To see this bird I'd have to make the trek to Peru. Sounds expensive, you say. Well, it may not be, if I can win a trip! Kolibri Expeditions are giving away 15 free birds trips in Peru. What a chance! I thought Australian birds were pretty amazing, but Peruvian birds are simply outstanding (check out Gunnar Engblom's 11 must-see Peruvian birds).

Plant education

2009-09-13T22:28:00.001+10:00

Atriplex cinerea 071007-7223
Originally uploaded by Tony Rodd

Western Treatment Plant
My plant education is a work-in-progress, but the good news is that it is progressing. Today, I spent the day at the Western Treatment Plant, and managed to learn a couple new plants:

· Atriplex cinerea (Grey Saltbush)
· Oxalis pes-caprae (weed with a yellow flower)
· Wild Rape
· I believe we saw tea-tree as well, but I don't know which kind. My guess is Prickly Tea-tree...

Yarra Bend Park
And, I learnt a few plants while doing fence work at Yarra Bend Park:

· Winter Grass
· Velp Grass (not sure about the spelling)

Lurg Hills
Also, I did some tree planting last weekend in the Lurg Hills near Benalla, and here are a few trees we planted:

· Mugga Ironbark
· Grey Box
· Yellow Box

And, we were trying to get rid of Onion Grass.

Of course, there were many more plants around; my method is to learn a couple on each field trip.

Bird banding

2009-07-24T20:27:00.003+10:00

A Pied Oystercatcher captured (and later released) at Stockyard Point
When I talk about bird banding, I'm talking about the practice of fitting a bird with a leg band for identification. I've helped a few researchers and bird groups with bird banding, and I like it because it's hands on experience with researchers working to find out more about birds and what we can do to protect them.

Some people are against bird banding, and some people are for it. The argument for bird banding is it helps greatly with research. Some say much of what has been discovered about birds - especially waders and migrant birds - could not have been achieved without banding. The argument against bird banding is the risks for birds associated with being captured and carrying a band.

The risks associated with being captured are that the birds can suffer from stress, drown or be eaten by predators. My opinion is these risks can be minimized by careful management and the presence of experienced banders, which is a requirement anyway. Waders have been known to carry band-related injuries, however, I have been told that waders commonly carry leg injuries in any case. Only a study on band-related injuries will tell if these injuries are plentiful or few and far between.

All this considered, my personal view is that bird banding is invaluable to bird research, and so long as it is carefully conducted and qualifications remain necessary for carrying out any banding, it should continue. Having said that, I'd be very interested to see the results of any studies on band-related injuries.

Weeding at the Western Treatment Plant

2009-07-06T21:49:00.002+10:00

20090114_1950 Red-necked Avocets
Originally uploaded by williewonker

I helped with some weeding at the Western Treatment Plant today. I volunteered through Conservation Volunteers.

We met at the Conservation Volunteers office in West Melbourne before driving to Melbourne Water's main building at the Western Treatment Plant. After watching an induction video, we drove to a dry lake that had been revegetated not long ago. The site was a volcanic plain full of basalt.

The aim was to remove weeds to give the planted trees and shrubs a better shot at survival. We used small mattocks to remove thistles and carpet grass, and pulled by hand other grass and Brassica. In the process I managed to pick up the names of a few plants:

Plants in the revegetated area
Muehlenbeckia florenta (Tangled Lignum; big tangled bush that birds like)
Dodonea viscosa (its leaves turn purple)
Allocasurina verticillata (Drooping Sheoak)

Weeds
Marrubium vulgare (Horehound; herby, with blue-ish mint-like leaves)
Solanum nigrum (Blackberry Nightshade; used to be called Deadly Nightshade, leaf-shaped leaf (ovate-lanceolate) with black berries almost one cm wide; no prickles)
Brassica... probably Brassica rapa (tall, stick-ish, with yellow flowers; lots dead)
Galenia pubescens (Carpet grass; at first to me looked like a lovely native ground cover, but found out later it is a weed)

The photo accompanying this blog entry is from Flickr. I didn't take it (I didn't take any photos today), and it was taken in a different part of the Western Treatment Plant.

Tree planting at Yarra Bend Park

2009-06-28T16:38:00.006+10:00

This is a Correa "Dusky Bells" in our backyard
I learnt a few new plant species at the Yarra Bend Park tree planting day today. I admit I couldn't remember the names of all the species I saw today - I think the trick is to make sure I learn at least one plant each time I'm outdoors.

Anyway, these are the plants I learnt today:
· Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle)
· Goodenia ovata (leaves look a bit like strawberry plant leaves - a shrub with a yellow flower)
· Correa (not sure what species we planted)
· Casurina cunninghamiana (River Sheoak - native to Australia, but not to the area, I don't think).

Another interesting observation was a flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. It's the second flock I've seen in the city in the last couple of months. Apparently there are reports of them everywhere in the city. At the last Birds Australia meeting, a couple of us were discussing Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos and how their presence in the city in larger numbers might be because of habitat loss from the recent fires.

Good trees and bad trees

2009-05-19T22:03:00.004+10:00

The rows of existing pines on the slope belong to the neighbouring property
My boyfriend and I just bought a block of land (an ex-pine plantation) that we're hoping to grow trees on for sawlogs.

Initially we were hoping to grow native hardwoods; that way, we would be able to earn money and perhaps provide native wildlife with some food and cover. But after consulting an industry professional, for our site, he recommended planting Pinus radiata (Radiata Pine), which is an exotic softwood.

We're reluctant to go against the advice of an experienced forester, so softwoods it is.

Recently, I asked a conservation project manager about the value of exotic (non-native) trees, and he said whilst they may provide wildlife with some cover, they do not provide wildlife with food, so they're of lesser value to wildlife than a native tree would be.

What he said makes a lot of sense, and it's a shame we couldn't go one better and plant natives. But such is the nature with projects that have two aims; there's a need for compromise. Incidentally, is planting a non-native tree better than planting no tree at all?

In any case, commercial native trees like Sydney Blue Gum, Spotted Gum and Mountain Ash don't grow on our site naturally, so I'm not sure how much the wildlife would benefit from them anyway.

I'm still keen to provide some habitat for wildlife, so we will be retaining a some of the land for native revegetation.

Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne

2009-03-30T09:07:00.001+11:00

Red Ironbark, I think
I haven't scoured the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne (South Yarra), but I did notice the emphasis wasn't on native trees.

For that sort of thing, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne are much better. It's more than a collection of manicured lawns; Cranbourne comprises of native bushland areas where you can ride your bike, have a picnic, or take a stroll.

That's not to say the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne don't feature manicured lawns. Their Australian Garden is an award-winning attraction featuring native plants. I went there on the weekend. It's definately worth a look if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Books: Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas by Leon Costermans

2009-03-29T10:25:00.002+11:00

Without this book, I would have thought I was sitting under a Eucalyptus species, when in actual fact, it was an Angophora species
Consistent, easy to use, and a handy size are three ways I would describe Trees of Victoria and Adjoining Areas by Leon Costermans.

My other tree and plant books are large hardcover books that I can't imagine carrying around with me in the bush. Okay, that might be because they're all fairly old books, but still-

Costermans's book is well thought through, and identifying trees with it is a relatively quick process - even for someone like me, who's only beginning to learn about trees and tree taxonomy.

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

2009-03-22T15:27:00.005+11:00

Wollomia nobilis (Wollomi Pine): one of my favourite trees
Until recently, I never realised how much botanic gardens have been a constant part of my life. Even when I was younger and not all that interested in trees, a botanic garden was a place I walked my dog. It was a place I showed off to tourists. During my undergraduate degree, it was the place where a Moonlight Cinema was held. Sometimes, it was just a nice place to take a stroll or have a picnic. More recently, it's become a place where I can learn about trees.

Learning about trees in books is one thing. But touching a living tree is something else. Trees are identified by their leaves, bark, fruit and buds. I've never been able to commit photos of leaves to memory; I learned my first tree by holding its leaves in my hand and rubbing my thumb across it to feel its texture. With labels beneath most trees and plants, botanic gardens are a great way to learn tree species.

I've visited two botanic gardens in the last two weeks actually: yesterday I walked around the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and last weekend I visited the Adelaide Botanic Gardens briefly. More photos in Flickr album: Trees and plants.

Trees on farms: fire mitigation

2009-03-16T10:10:00.004+11:00

Trees of varying heights lining the driveway at Brimin Lodge
Victoria's recent bushfires have made a lot of people a bit "anti-trees". Yes, trees burn; but that doesn't mean we should cut them all down to avoid the risk of fire.*

Actually, trees can mitigate bushfires. Bushfires can spread quickly when wind speeds are high. But trees can act as windbreaks to slow wind - and hence, fire - down. With slower wind speeds, the fire's intensity can be lessened too.

Shelterbelts - or a barrier of trees - can be planted across prevailing winds. The best shelterbelts allow some wind to pass through. This is because wind moves a lot like water: if it hits a solid barrier, it will sweep over the barrier and form eddy currents on the lee side, which could make fire conditions even worse. Therefore, a brick wall or a shelterbelt of dense trees that are all the same height will do more harm than good. The best shelterbelts are at least three rows wide, and feature trees of varying heights, with the tallest trees in the middle. Some wind still filters through, but at a much slower speed.

*(No disrespect to the people who have lost their homes in the recent fires.)

Sensible thoughts on the recent Victorian bushfires

2009-03-11T19:02:00.005+11:00

When disasters happen, one of the first things people do is start pointing fingers. In the media, the blame has fallen on a lack of backburning, lack of warning, and even the "greenies".

I'm inclined to believe this blame is unfounded - recently, I stumbled across an article written by a Victorian forester called Andrew Campbell who has valid, sensible explanations of what made the Victorian bushfires on 7 February 2009 so much worse than bushfires in "normal" years.

I'd recommend reading his article if you want the opinion of an actual industry professional. A lot of the opinions in the news have been put forth by people who just don't have a sufficient background to back their claims.

Without further adue, here's the link to the bushfire article:

http://www.triplehelix.com.au/documents/ThoughtsontheVictorianBushfires_000.pdf

Trees on farms: shelter

2009-03-08T17:15:00.004+11:00

Trees line paddocks on my boyfriend's parents' farm
It's time to come clean. I'm in the process of buying a block of land. As such, I've been researching land-related issues furiously, which partly explains why since the start of the year my posts haven't been greatly interesting. I hope that will change.

In this post I'd like to talk about trees. They serve many purposes on blocks of land, and one of these purposes is providing shelter for stock.

Animals need shelter from the elements: mainly the wind and the sun. The sun is an easy one: trees provide shade for stock. But why do stock need protection from wind, you ask? Sheep, horses, cows and other stock will get wet if it rains (obviously), but how cold they get depends on how strong the wind is. Lambs can die from being exposed to wind and rain. That's where trees come in. Trees slow down wind speeds, and in doing so they keep stock warm.

Books: Managing Horses on Small Properties by Jane Myers

2009-03-01T17:57:00.006+11:00

Owning a horse isn't like owning a cat or a dog. A cat or a dog doesn't have as much impact on land. Firstly, cats and dogs aren't hoofed animals, so they don't speed up erosion the way a hoofed animal might. Secondly, cats and dogs don't eat off the land (or at least, they shouldn't be).

I just finished reading a book called Managing Horses on Small Properties - a book I think every horse owner should read, even if you already own a horse.

In the book, Jane Myers talks about pasture, water management, stables, farm planning, fencing, and more. Basically she talks about everything you need to know about having a horse on your property.

Bushfires

2009-02-12T20:37:00.004+11:00

Pet supplies I donated
I'm sure some of you have heard about the Victorian bushfires already. It's been devastating. There are fires all over the state. Over 1000 homes have been destroyed (literally burnt to the ground), leaving countless people homeless. The death toll is nearing 200, and it's expected it to exceed that.

There have always been bushfires here, but this time they've been so much worse. I've heard of people who had less than a minute's notice: they were packing up, only to turn around and find their front door on fire. Some fires were moving at 150 km/h... How do you outrun a fire like that? Every time I watch the news I cry. So many people have lost everything.

I've tried to help as much as I can. I've donated money to the Australian Red Cross appeal, the Wildlife Victoria appeal, sent handmade toys to the Toy Society (for giving to children affected by the fires) and dropped off a box of pet supplies at a vet clinic. Still I feel like I haven't done enough.

If you'd like to help out, here are some websites with more information:

www.redcross.org.au
www.wildlifevictoria.org.au
salvos.org.au
www.donateblood.com.au
www.ozbushfireappeal.etsy.com - Etsy shop where proceeds from anything bought will be donated to the Australian Red Cross.
thetoysociety.blogspot.com - People collecting handmade toys to give to children affected by the fires. The blog also has links to people collecting other handmade goods to donate.
Click here to buy a photo of Sam the Koala who was offered a drink by a passing firefighter; proceeds go to the CFA (Country Fire Authority).

News on the bushfires: www.abc.net.au/news/

A year with Milly

2008-12-21T15:49:00.004+11:00

As of last Friday, our three-legged cat Milly has been with us for a year. In December last year, she was biding her time at Lort Smith Animal Hospital’s cattery, wondering if anyone would take her home.

I’m really glad we did, because she’s been an invaluable new family member and she’s made our house a home.

Buying second-hand stuff is good for the planet

2008-12-14T17:15:00.004+11:00

My box of stuff – where else would you find a pair of perfectly good jodhpurs and assorted horse stuff for $12?
Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to a clearing sale in Little River. Clearing sales are basically farm garage sales, except the items are auctioned off. Usually the items are just boxes of stuff.

I love second-hand stuff. Mostly, it's cheap, in pretty good condition and sometimes the item is difficult to find elsewhere.

Plus, buying second-hand stuff is good for the planet. What happens when we continually buy brand-new things is we throw perfectly good items out. These items fill our landfills, which can pollute the local environment by contaminating water, harbouring diseases and generating methane (which is a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change). At the very least, landfills are unsightly and living close to one would be very noisy and unpleasant.

If you're still not sold on buying second-hand stuff, you will be when you find some real "gems" for a decent price.

Good farmers and bad farmers

2008-12-12T16:10:00.004+11:00

My boyfriend's uncle's calves look much healther than the five sickly ones I saw at the cattle sales
There are good farmers and bad farmers. By “bad” I don’t mean evil, of course. But like anything else, some people are better at farming than others. I saw an example of this at the cattle sales yesterday.

Most of the cattle at the cattle sales looked well cared for. That’s why the five calves that didn’t stood out so much. I don't know who they belonged to. They were so thin, the space under their hips was hollow (it's usually filled with meat), and the males hadn’t even been castrated. The calves looked like they’d been left in a paddock and forgotten about until the feed ran out and they had to be sold. Poor things; I hope whoever bought them cares for them better.

Dinosaurs and climate change

2008-12-10T14:42:00.001+11:00

Birds are dinosaurs' closest living relatives
Some of us may wonder why climate change is threat to humans – I was reminded of exactly why when I read an article about palaeontology recently.

Even though the article was about novel ways of studying dinosaurs – something that seems far removed from anything to do with mankind – it was spookily relevant to our current plight against our changing planet. Let’s not forget: something wiped out the dinosaurs, and their final scenario was frighteningly similar to our present one. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Even before dinosaurs became extinct, they were disappearing in [certain parts] of the world … Something triggered a tremendous decline in biodiversity. The big [extraterrestrial] impact may have been merely the final blow.

The end of the Cretaceous was a time when the global climate was changing and the sea level dropping. A shallow sea that covered the heart of North America drained. Lands that were formerly separated by water were now connected. New species arrived, perhaps carrying deadly microbes.

No wonder it’s such a haunting scenario. Our world today is undergoing a climate change, a period of emerging pathogens, a rapid mixing of the Earth’s biota, a loss of biodiversity, and a virtual shrinking of the entire planet.*

Spooky. Perhaps battling climate change is pretty important after all, eh?

*Joel Achenbach, ‘Dinosaurs Come Alive’, National Geographic, March 2003.

Horse riding

2008-12-08T15:53:00.005+11:00

My boyfriend rode a horse called Hobbie - coincidentally, his facial markings are strikingly similar to the facial markings on Dobson, my boyfriend's farm horse
Yesterday my boyfriend and I drove to Aireys Inlet to go horse riding. We were both matched with beautiful horses that suited us really well, and it was a really fun ride with lots of trotting and cantering.

Along the roadside, a roughly scrawled sign posted by environmentalists against horse riding was nailed above a tangle of fallen branches and leaves. The riding staff member said environmentalists were protesting about the fallen branches on the side of the road – I’m not sure if I heard her wrong, but if I didn’t, it’s a silly thing to protest about. Must be some special horses if they can break limbs off tall trees and line them up neatly on the side of the road. (Note my sarcasm.) Anyway, don’t fallen branches and leaves provide good cover for small birds?

I will admit that horses, being hoofed animals, can cause a lot of erosion. But trail operators like the one I visited today stick to trails. It’s not as if their rides consist of hundreds of riders bush-bashing in whichever direction they please.

The way I see it, there are worse activities; like motorbike riding! Don’t motorbike riders build mounds just so they can jump off them? And almost every time I’ve gone riding with any trail operator, I’ve seen motorbike riders hooning around, slashing up the ground, choking us with their fumes and giving us headaches with the drone of their engines. At least horses are pretty quiet, they don’t pollute the air, and if we want to do any jumping, we use logs that have already fallen over… perhaps I'm just biased.

Obscure animals

2008-12-06T15:17:00.004+11:00

I took this photo of a Nile crocodile in Botswana, where I volunteered to collect data on Nile crocodiles, an apex predator in the Okavango Panhandle
My boyfriend thinks it’s endearing that I adore animals that people aren’t fond of usually: crocodiles, birds, sharks, etc. Some people just think it’s weird though.

But there is some logic behind my affections. Some people are only interested in protecting animals that look cute; but even obscure animals that aren’t cuddly or fluffy are worth saving. In fact, often these animals are the most important animals in the ecosystem. Without them, everything would fall apart.

For instance, crocodiles and sharks are apex predators. Researchers like to learn about apex predators to get a feel for the state of the rest of the ecosystem. And birds and bees are pollinators; without them, lots of plants would suffer.

Given that plants depend on birds, you might wonder if it matters how many bird species there are – you might think: surely if one bird species became extinct, another would fill in for it when it comes to pollinating plants. But nature doesn’t work this way. Plants don’t want to cross-breed, so they attract certain species only (i.e., birds may need a special bill shape to reach the nectar in a certain flower, etc).

So you see, all animals – no matter how ugly, obscure or seemingly unimportant – have a vital role in supporting their ecosystem.

Common Starlings

2008-12-04T13:45:00.004+11:00

This morning – like every morning – I woke up to the sound of claws scrambling on the roof. The corner of roof above our bedroom has become the favourite morning haunt of a family of Common Starlings.

If it was any native bird, I would be happy to hear them. But Common Starlings are a nuisance – they’re an introduced species, and if they weren’t here, there would be more native birds around.

I think people must wonder why I go on and on about native species – some of which I’ve never even seen before. That’s exactly the point – how will we ever see all the natives species there should be out there if introduced species keep hogging nesting spots and chasing other birds away?

What makes a native animal more important than a non-native animal?

2008-12-03T18:05:00.003+11:00

This isn't a feral goat, but it's the best photo I have of a goat! I took this photo in Stellenbosch, South Africa
In my last blog post I mentioned feral animals competing with native wildlife for food and shelter. When I wrote that, I made an assumption that native wildlife is more important than feral animals. But what makes a native animal more important than a feral animal?

I guess the obvious reason feral animals are sometimes seen as “baddies” is that a native animal could go extinct when a feral animal competes for the same resources. For instance, in Australia feral goats compete with the yellow-footed rock wallaby, which is nearing extinction now.

Introduced species do similar damage. And clearly, introduced species must originate from somewhere – the assumption is that they already have a stronghold elsewhere. So, native animals, especially endemic species (species that don’t occur anywhere else) should be the priority.

There are exceptions to these theories though. There’s a species of cattle that is native to Indonesia called Banteng. Today, Banteng are rare in Indonesia and are listed as endangered internationally as far as I know. Funnily enough, the largest population of Banteng are in the Northern Territory in Australia, where they aren’t native. So this is a case where a non-native population has been beneficial. I don’t know at what cost, though (if any). But since Banteng are cattle I suspect they have had a detrimental effect on our environment.

In any case, I think feral animals belong under domestication, and native habitat should be saved for native animals.

Should an animal lover eat meat?

2008-12-02T17:34:00.006+11:00

My chickens aren't for eating, they're layers, so they lay eggs - but chicken is one source of meat that produces less methane than sheep and cattle
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that I love animals, yet I eat meat. This begs the question: should an animal lover eat meat?

Let’s start with the potential concerns an animal lover might have with eating meat:
• The animals don’t have a good quality of life
• The animals are treated with cruelty when they’re alive
• The animals are killed inhumanely
• Buying products made from sheep and cattle contributes to greenhouse gas emissions
• Farming animals uses up land and resources
• The animals are too cute to be eaten
• The person is repulsed by the idea of eating meat.

Animals that may not have a good quality of life include (but aren’t restricted to) animals that are kept in overcrowded conditions or in small spaces; such as fish, caged chickens, pigs, etc. The simple solution to this concern would be to buy only free-range chickens, to eat fish you caught yourself on a fishing trip, to avoid pork, etc.

The solution is also simple when the concern is greenhouse gas emissions: sheep and cattle products can be avoided or eaten less.

The solution is not so simple when the concern is animal cruelty and inhumane killing, because everyone’s definition of cruelty and inhumane methods differs. In this case, I guess the best thing to do would be to do your research and decide for yourself.

When it comes to the concern that farming animals uses up land and resources, things are a bit more complicated. My personal opinion is that biologically, eating meat is a necessity for humans. Therefore, I have no problem with using some land and resources to produce meat. But of course, the more land and resources we use for our own benefit, the less there is available for wildlife. And I have a problem with this. My solution to this is to eat meat which converts food into energy efficiently. Kangaroo meat is one of these meats, and it converts food into energy much more efficiently than traditional livestock, which is why I support the idea of eating kangaroo meat and farming kangaroos.

With land use and resources in mind, to me, not eating livestock simply because it’s cute doesn’t make a lot of sense, because it’s a waste of resources. Also, simply allowing livestock to live without human supervision is not a good idea. These animals are described as “feral” and can impact local wildlife negatively. One example is of feral goats in Australia, which compete with wallabies for food and shelter.

It seems the choice of whether or not an animal lover should eat meat resides with the individual, because not all animal lovers have the same concerns. My primary concern is wildlife and their natural habitat. Another animal lover’s primary concern might be individual animals. And when an animal lover avoids eating meat because they’re repulsed by the idea of eating meat, then there’s really no solution; is there?

I think the moral of the story is that every animal lover will have their reasons for eating or not eating meat. As supporters of the same cause, we should just accept that animal lovers can have individual methods. I don’t think there’s a clear-cut answer to the question of whether or not an animal lover should eat meat. The decision is individual.

A not-so-typical animal lover

2008-12-01T15:20:00.009+11:00

Kangaroo farming may not be all bad if we look at the bigger picture
(Photo: I took this photo of a kangaroo in at Burrinjuck Dam in NSW)
To some people, I must seem like a not-so-typical animal-lover. I love animals; yet I eat meat, and I support the idea of kangaroo farming.

I like to describe myself as a sensible animal lover who sees the bigger picture. I’ll begin with the topic of eating meat: like I mentioned in a previous post, humans evolved as hunter-gatherers, so meat is an essential part of our diet. (Whether we want to eat meat or not is a different matter.)

There are plenty of reasons why we need meat in our diet, but one reason is that we need to eat meat to allow our bodies to process vitamin D (which we get from the sun primarily). As someone who has just recovered from the lowest level of vitamin D my doctor has ever seen, I can warrant that people need vitamin D for energy. Without energy, trust me, even the simplest tasks are nearly impossible – even walking to the bathroom from your bed without someone else’s help (but that’s a story of mine for another time). By eating meat, I’m choosing to retain my health so I have the energy to devote towards saving animals.

Diet is one thing – but also, keeping domestic livestock for no reason other than to allow them to exist because they are cute is a waste of resources (feed, water and land).

Farming kangaroos: much of the backlash when it comes to the idea of farming kangaroos stems from people who don’t think it’s ethically correct to farm a native animal that’s also a national emblem. But I really don’t see how farming a kangaroo is ethically any different from farming emus, which are farmed currently. Both animals are on the Australian coat of arms.

And I don’t see how farming a native animal is any different to farming a domestic animal – viability aside. Domestic and wild populations would be kept separate – it’s not as if the wild kangaroo population would be in jeopardy. If it was, I would be totally against farming kangaroos. (Let's keep in mind I'm talking about farming kangaroos, not harvesting.)

When it comes to kangaroo farming, the thing we should be looking at is not something as abstract as moral or ethical grounds. We should be looking at the bigger picture. Farming sheep and cattle produces masses of carbon emissions. Compared to sheep and cattle, kangaroos produce negligible amounts of methane. To me, it seems ridiculous to disregard a more environmentally-friendly red meat alternative, simply because that animal happens to be on our coat of arms and is native.

I love our native animals, probably more than most people. Farming kangaroos doesn't equate to the demise of the wild kangaroo. On the contrary, we can save not only wild kangaroos, but wallabies, Wedge-tailed Eagles, Tasmanian devils, and a host of other species if we choose to save the environment they live in first by cutting back our carbon emissions by choosing to farm an animal that produces less of these emissions. Because what good is it to save a single species if there's nowhere left for it to live?

Harvesting and farming kangaroos

2008-11-30T17:23:00.003+11:00

A photo I took of a kangaroo at Burrinjuck Dam in NSW
In my last post I mentioned hunting for meat. I didn’t realise wild kangaroos are hunted for meat and leather in Australia.

Normally I’d be opposed to this extremely, but apparently wild kangaroo populations get out of hand every year – so much so that they damage the environment and need to be culled.

It sounds like a horrible and meddlesome operation, but the actual eating of kangaroo meat may not be a bad thing. Compared to cows and sheep, kangaroos emit negligible amounts of methane, which is a contributor to carbon emissions, which could be responsible for climate change.

If more people eat kangaroo meat, we could reduce our collective carbon emissions in Australia. In fact, this is what Professor Ross Garnaut suggested recently.

I also have a suggestion, although I don’t know if it’s naïve: I wonder if rather than culling overpopulated kangaroos, we could use the extra individuals as breeding stock for farming kangaroos.

This solves the kangaroo overpopulation problem, creates a new industry and introduces an environmentally-friendly red meat alternative.

Land

2008-11-28T18:47:00.003+11:00

The view from Maberly North
Staying on a farm has gotten me thinking about land use and farming.

I’ve always believed farming livestock is a better alternative to hunting for meat. But I have been saddened by the lack of wildlife on farms. Sometimes I wonder if land is better left in its natural state, and if in that case, controlled hunting is that bad after all.

But reading about over-hunting in Africa quickly reminds me that hunting is no longer a viable option. It’s simply too difficult to police. And with the human population as big as it is now, there are too many mouths to feed – relying on natural wildlife populations to feed us is just not possible.

In any case, humans have cleared so much land already, and even if we left that land alone, it may not re-vegetate as well as we’d hope.

I don't think this is all as simple as I make it out to be. Anyway, I guess our only hope when it comes to saving land for wildlife is to protect the pockets of wildlife that are left.

Mulesing

2008-11-25T21:30:00.004+11:00

Sheep bums
Since I touched on farm animals and animal cruelty in my last blog post, surgical mulesing seems to be a logical next topic.

Mulesing is a surgical procedure where the aim is to remove a flap of skin on the bum of a sheep. Removing this flap of skin makes the bum area bald, which in turn makes the area cleaner and attracts fewer flies.

Flies can be a huge problem for sheep that haven't been mulesed, because without mulesing, poo gets stuck around the bum area, making the area warm and moist, which attracts flies. The flies then lay their eggs in the pooey area (called dags). When the maggots hatch, they burrow into the sheep's skin and feeds on the sheep's flesh. This is a painful experience for the sheep and usually results in death in a few days.

But controversy over mulesing has brought it to the attention of the AWI (Australian Wool Innovation) and there are plans to phase out mulesing by 2010.

Mulesing has been viewed as an act of cruelty, but in reality the intent is quite the contrary; it's done for the benefit of the sheep. Personally, I agree that mulesing should be allowed because it benefits the sheep in the long run, but I do agree that better methods for mulesing need to be established.

The problem is that many alternative methods cost farmers money. An anaesthetic injection may cost $2 a sheep, which doesn’t sound like much until you multiply that figure by the number of sheep a farmer has… say, 5000. That makes the cost of the anaesthetic $10,000.

Another idea is attaching clips to the flap skin. The clips remain on the sheep until the skin dies and falls off. The problem with this idea is that many farmers think this method is more painful for the sheep.

The final idea I’ve heard of is breeding out these flaps of skin. At first, this seemed like the most sensible idea to me. But there are so many breeds of sheep. I don’t know if it’s realistic to believe these flaps of skin can be bred out of every sheep breed in Australia. Not to mention if it’s even possible, since larger sheep (which is what farmers want) tend to have the largest skin flaps.

I hope there's a solution to this issue that'll benefit both farmers and sheep.

Liking your food

2008-11-23T17:42:00.007+11:00

These first-cross ewes will produce prime lambs - when the ewes have lived out their time they will be sold as mutton
Often I’ve wondered if it’s strange that I like sheep and cows, considering I eat lamb and beef.

I don’t think it’s too strange. But my situation does remind me of the children’s story Hansel and Gretel: it’s the story where an old lady keeps a boy called Hansel in a cage and fattens him up because she plans to eat him.

Still, I don't think sheep and cows can be compared to Hansel, because in the story Hansel is a human. Sheep and cows, on the other hand, are animals; and they’re bred for the purpose of consumption. So, I suppose being nice to and liking sheep and cows isn’t a necessity – but it doesn’t do any harm either.

If I like animals so much, then why eat them, you ask? Well, us humans evolved as hunters and gatherers, didn't we? We require a diet that contains meat (whether or not you want to eat meat is a different matter - I'm talking about our needs as a species).

And I don't believe farming livestock for consumption can be construed as animal cruelty anyway. Apart from the momentary terror of being handled and ho'ed in the yards, I think most sheep and cows have a relatively peaceful existence sipping water and chewing grass under the sun.

Rams in our backyard

2008-11-21T22:31:00.005+11:00

The rams (that I named George and Bertram) love grazing under the willow tree
My boyfriend's uncle has put two rams in the backyard.

I think it's funny how our backyard pets are rams - most people with backyard sheep have lambs, not males full of testosterone!

Okay, they're not really pets - they're really in the backyard just to graze down the grass - but it's funny to think of them as pets!

Identifying birds

2008-11-19T15:54:00.002+11:00

New Holland Honeyeaters in a tree
I've been having fun identifying garden birds from the kitchen window.

Some time ago, someone asked me to identify a bird by the description of a single feather. They didn’t have a photograph of it – I was just told it was a “dark” colour with light spots…

I couldn’t help her much, because to identify birds I haven’t been relying on any feathers that might have fallen to the ground. The things I look out for are their body shape, bill shape, colours, movement, calls, how many of them there are, what they’re eating, and which tree they’re in.

For instance, I spotted some New Holland Honeyeaters the other day – I hadn’t seen them before, so I took note of their narrow curved bill, their yellow wings, the black streaks on their white belly, and the white markings on their black head. I noticed they were in a bottle brush tree, so on a hunch I skipped to my bird book’s honeyeater section. Also, I noticed the birds harassed the bottle brush tree for food so much, it shivered. The next time I glanced outside and saw the bottle brush shivering from the movement of a bunch of dark little birds, I had a good feeling they were New Holland Honeyeaters before I confirmed it by bringing the binoculars to my eyes.

Drafting sheep

2008-11-18T16:55:00.001+11:00

My boyfriend and his uncle by the sheep yards
I love helping my boyfriend's uncle draft sheep. In farm-speak, drafting means sorting sheep. For example, today, my boyfriend's uncle wanted to separate the wethers (castrated male sheep) from the ewes (female sheep).

When sheep are to be drafted, they’re herded into a narrow space called a drafting race. At the end of the drafting race there is a gate that can be swung to close one of two pens the sheep can go into. The person drafting the sheep controls the gate.

Today, Tony wanted the wethers separated from the ewes, so when a ewe came down the race, he swung the gate to the left. When a wether came down the race, he swung the gate to the right. We ended up with one pen full of ewes and one pen full of wethers.

The same procedure can be used to separate shornies (shorn sheep) and woollies (unshorn sheep), ewes and lambs, etc.

My chooks

2008-11-15T22:22:00.005+11:00

The chooks are free range, although they're shut in the shed at night (which they return to themselves at dusk) to keep them safe from foxes
I’m a proud new owner of three chickens!

A little over a week ago, I cleaned up the chook shed here at my boyfriend's grandpa's old farm house: I shovelled old poo off the floor, removed some bits of rubbish, and patched up a piece of the wire mesh that divides the shed into two.

The next day, my boyfriend and I finished what I’d started: we spread straw over the floor of the chook shed, filled a bucket with water, found a tin and poured some pellets into it, and found a metal tray and scattered some food scraps along it.

The chooks seem happy in their new environment. I bet they’re glad to be away from the mob they were living in. All of them have feathers missing because other chooks have pecked at them.

The missing feathers aren’t pretty to look at, but they make it easier to tell who’s who. I named the one with the most tail feathers Wilhelmina; the chook with a medium amount of tail feathers is called Sybil; and the chook with the fewest tail feathers is called Gertrude.

Now that I’ve watched them a bit, even when their feathers grow back, I think I’d still know who’s who. Wilhelmina is the bossiest. Sybil seems to do her own thing, not caring what I'm doing. Gertrude is the most curious of the lot, and likes to follow me.

All of them are curious to a degree, and seem to like keeping one eye on whatever I'm doing (two eyes, in Gertrude's case). Despite their initial suspicions of me (which were natural for chooks, I reckon), they seem to have accepted me now, and I think they’re settling well – I'm getting three eggs a day!

Garden birds in Warncoort

2008-11-14T15:20:00.006+11:00

A photo I took a Superb Fairy-wren
I'm still staying at my boyfriend's uncle's farm, and there was a lot of bird activity in the garden yesterday.

Everyday, I have my breakfast at the kitchen table which overlooks the garden. Yesterday morning, despite the howling winds, an array of birds visited the garden in just a few minutes: Superb Fairy-wrens, European Goldfinches, a Grey Shrike-thrush, a group of New Holland Honeyeaters, and Willy Wagtails; as well as the usual visitors: Australian Magpies, Magpie-larks, House Sparrows, a pair of Blackbirds, and a Common Starling in its purple and green breeding plumage.

It was as if all the birds knew a storm was coming and were rushing to get a last-minute bite before battling the stronger gusts of wind that whirled through the farm later that day.

Survivor's Song by Delia and Mark Owens

2008-11-12T14:58:00.004+11:00

Survivor's Song is about Mark and Delia's fight to save the elephants of Luangwa (Zambia) - this photo is a photo I took of elephants in Chobe National Park (Botswana)
After learning that Cry of the Kalahari is one of my favourite books, my friend passed me a book called Survivor's Song (written by the same authors), which I finished reading today.

The main thing I took away from Survivor's Song was the realisation that sometimes conservation work can have little to do with the animals themselves. Unlike Cry of the Kalahari, Survivor's Song didn't have many details about the animals the authors were working to save - instead it delivered a gripping tale about the authors' war against poachers, and the authors' long battle to make the local people realise that animals are worth more to them alive than dead.

Reading about the ordeal has made me even more eager to find work with a zoological periodical or a natural history publisher (once I complete my publishing degree). If natural history publications aren't made, the rest of the world wouldn't be aware of the work people like Delia and Mark Owens do - and after reading Survivor's Song, I know raising awareness is half the battle.

Colac cows

2008-11-10T14:56:00.002+11:00

"R3" is the friendliest of the lot
I'm in Colac on my boyfriend's Uncle's farm, and I've made a few friends. They seem really interested in me, but they don't have much to say! Haha, as you can tell from the photo, they're cows. These ones were hand-reared, so they're unusually friendly and curious - it makes for some hilarious photos!

Aren't we animals?

2008-10-29T00:53:00.006+11:00

I don't understand how some people can lack so much compassion when it comes to animals.

I know someone who doesn't believe dogs deserve medical care (i.e. vets), and doesn't believe wild animals need to be saved from extinction. "Why should we care? They're just animals," is what this person said.

But, aren't humans animals? Recently I read an article that argued that humans are animals. But if you told a child that, the child's parents would scold you for calling their child an animal. Are we so different from animals?

Some people would argue that we are, because we're more intelligent than other animals. True, to a degree - I don't think sparrows can do trigonometry. (Can they?) But someone called Euan M Macphail wrote a book called Brain and Intelligence in Vertebrates - I haven't read it, but apparently he concluded that there isn't much difference in general intelligence between humans and non-human species.

Of course, it depends on what our definition of intelligence is. I'm not a scientist, so I don't know if there's a general definition everyone goes by. But I think Macphail was referring to an ability to learn.

In any case, does being unintelligent make an animal less deserving of living? I certainly hope not. We may have things other animals don't: like language and culture. But it'd be a pity if we've traded those things for compassion and respect for other animals.

Greyhound Adoption Program

2008-10-26T17:38:00.001+11:00

Love a Greyhound
Originally uploaded by GooseGoddessS

I saw some greyhounds advertising for the Greyhound Adoption Program today.

I've never owned a greyhound, but every one I've met has been so sweet and gentle.

A good disposition isn't the only thing that seems to make them perfect pets. Greyhounds don't shed very much, which makes them great house pets. And they don't need a lot of grooming. Exercise-wise, they only need a 20-minute walk a day. They don't bark lots (so your neighbours aren't likely to complain), and they spend most of the day lounging around!

I guess the problem isn't their disposition or low maintence, it's the amount of good forever homes that are available out there.

New Caledonia

2008-10-24T16:56:00.003+11:00

Kagu, Rhynochetos jubatus, courting
Originally uploaded by djringer

I'm very excited because in January I'm going to New Caledonia - apparently it's an ecological hotspot.

Unlike many other South Pacific islands that are volcanic, New Caledonia boasts unique plantlife and wildlife because it used to be part of the super-continent Gondwana.

New Caledonia's isolation has allowed some awesome plants to evolve, including prehistoric-looking ferns as big as palm trees. They make the landscape look so primitive that I'm half-expecting to see a dinosaur while I'm there!

I might not achieve sighting a dinosaur, but I will see one of their closest relatives: birds. New Caledonia has a number of endemic birds. The one I'm hoping to seeing the most is called a Kagu: a white, chicken-sized, carnivorous bird that barks.

Kagu numbers are threatened by animals man introduced to the island. (Before humans arrived, the only mammals in New Caledonia were bats.) But Kagus are iconic in New Caledonia, and I hope that will encourage people to protect it. I hope I'm lucky enough to see one. It's difficult to say if I will, because I'll only be there for a few days.

City birds

2008-10-18T17:11:00.005+11:00

I was sitting in my car waiting for the traffic light to turn green, when I looked outside and noticed a small parrot feeding in a pocket of grass next to the road.

At first I thought it was a Rainbow Lorikeet (there are lots of them in our area). But when I looked closer I noticed it was green, with a black bill, blue wings, a red bum, and a yellowish belly - not a Rainbow Lorikeet.

When I got home I flipped through my bird book and decided it was a Red-rumped Parrot; I've never seen one of those in the city! So I thought he was worthy of a mention.

I thought it was strange that he was the only one of his kind in the vacinity; but according to my bird book, females have duller colours, so perhaps I dismissed her as one of the Indian Mynas hanging out in the same area.

I don't have a photo of the Red-rumped Parrot, so here's a photo of two Rainbow Lorikeets, which is what I thought the parrot was at first - with an orange bill, orange chest and blue head, it's different to a Red-rumped Parrot clearly.

The second bird worth mentioning is a Spur-winged Plover (Masked Lapwing). I visit my doctor one to two times a week, and every time I pass a certain stretch of road, I see a Spur-winged Plover. Apparently they're quite territorial, so there's a chance it could be the same one I'm seeing each time! Again, I haven't seen these elsewhere in the inner city.

It's exciting spotting birds in the city that aren't one of the usual suspects! (Ravens, Magpies, Mynas, Sparrows, etc.)

Classifying birds

2008-10-11T23:57:00.006+11:00

The Satin Bowerbird (shown here attending to a bower in a blurry photo I took at Healesville Sanctuary) shares its generic name with the Great, Western, Spotted and Fawn-breasted Bowerbirds now
I've been tempted to familiarise myself with official bird species checklists, but after reading an article about such checklists in Wingspan, I don't think I'll bother!

Apparently, species checklists are always changing. What might be considered a species one day, might be considered a sub-species the next day. What might be considered a sub-species one day, might be lumped together with another sub-species the next day.

Rather than memorise the details of bird taxonomy, knowing where to find a good checklist might be a better idea. That way, if I need to look something up, I know where to go.

By the sounds of it, Les Christidis and Walter Boles' the Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories is a good checklist; Birds Australia is adopting it as its official checklist.

Conveniently, Birds Australia's website has a link to Christidis and Boles' checklist, which will be updated online regularly: http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/birds/checklist.html

Royal Melbourne Show

2008-09-28T21:20:00.004+10:00

My boyfriend had a good time inspecting the wool, since he's a professional wool classer
I went to the Royal Melbourne Show last week. I loved seeing all the animals. It always amazes me how many breeds of sheep and cows there are!

It was interesting to see the sheep breeds. On my boyfriend's farm, they have Merino crosses mainly, so it was great to compare them to the other breeds at the Show and realise how different all the breeds look.

I loved the horse and cat presentations too, although I was hoping to see more cat breeds.

All in all, I had a great day. I'm not really a showbags person, but I did pick up some Petstock coupons, a book on trees and shrubs, some free bird posters, and other goodies.

Birds of Brimin Lodge

2008-09-16T10:58:00.007+10:00

A photo I took of a Laughing Kookaburra
I went up to my boyfriend's farm, "Brimin Lodge", for the weekend and here's a list of birds we saw:

· Laughing Kookaburra (there must have been a bit of a comedy fest going on... they were so noisy!)
· Superb Fairy-wren
· Red-browed Finch
· Striated Pardalote
· White-browed Scrubwren
· Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
· Galah
· Yellow Rosella
· Willy Wagtail
· Crested Pigeon
· Australian Shelduck
· Australian White Ibis
· Emu
· Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
· Brown Treecreeper
· Australian Pelican
· White-winged Chough
· Pied Currawong
· Flame Robin
· And a Whistling Kite, I think - I'm not great at identifying raptors!

A number of birds that flew off before I could I identify them.

Over 130 native bird and animal species have been spotted at Brimin Lodge.

Are animals cruel?

2008-09-11T23:01:00.003+10:00

I took this photo of Nile crocodiles in Botswana
Often, people ask why I like "cruel" animals: wolves, lions, crocodiles, etc.

I don't think animals can be called "cruel", because it's a word that describes a human idea. When a person kills another person for fun, to me that's cruel. But when wolves maraud their prey, when lions kill hyenas and then not eat them, and when crocodiles inflict severe wounds on their own kind; I don't think they're being "cruel"...

Here's why: wolves rely on pack mentality to kill their prey; lions might kill hyenas that trespass on lion territory; and crocodiles, like most other species, fight for the right to reproduce.

To me, "violent" actions in the animal world have logical explanations more often than not. Violent actions in thue human world make no sense to me.

Injured cats: emergency phone numbers

2008-09-03T13:03:00.009+10:00

One of the reasons my cat, Milly, is an indoor cat is because we live too close to a number of busy roads
If you find an injured cat, here are some phone numbers to call:

The Cat Protection Society of Victoria: 9434 7155, or 9434 7255

For Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs...
RSPCA: 9224 2222

And for Melbourne's Western Surburbs...
Lost Dogs Home (They take in cats as well): 9329 2755
Lort Smith Animal Hospital: 9328 3021

The reason I'm posting these details is because on Saturday I saw a cat get hit by a car. Apparently the best people to call would have been the Lost Dogs Home, since they cover the area I was in for injured animals.

The person driving the car that hit the cat just drove off, so I crossed the road to see if the cat was injured.

Its right eyeball was falling out of its socket, and it was bleeding on its face. It was in desperate need of medical attention, so my boyfriend (who was with me) ran home to get a cardboard box and a towel to take it to the nearest animal hospital, since it wasn't wearing a collar.

I stayed with the cat, and we managed to get it in the box, but just as we were closing the box, the cat jumped out and ran into a gap underneath a house. The gap was only big enough for a cat to fit into.

While I was waiting for my boyfriend to find a box, another person off the street who was equally concerned about the cat rang RSPCA. Because we weren't in the Eastern Suburbs, RSPCA couldn't send anyone out to help us. So, they gave us the number for Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

By the time we got through to Lort Smith Animal Hospital, the cat had ran into the gap under the house. Lort Smith Animal Hospital couldn't send anyone to help us, so they suggested we call the council to ask them to retrieve the cat.

By then, we had hung around a little distance outside the gap under the house for about an hour. We were hoping the cat would come out, but it didn't. The person off the street who'd been doing all the phone calling said he would go home to ring the council.

At this stage, we didn't know how else we could help the cat, since we couldn't reach or even see it under the house. I returned to the house the next morning with a torch, but I couldn't see anything because the gap goes under the house for a few metres, and then there's a big drop that a cat could easily hide in.

I went home and posted about the incident on an Australian cat forum and on the Lost Dogs Home website (in the cat section) in case anyone with a missing cat browses those websites in search of information. Also I reported the incident to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital cattery and the Cat Protection Society of Victoria.

I was told about the Cat Protection Society of Victoria only a few days after the incident. I wish I had known to call them at the time.

I hope that at around dinner time the cat would have emerged and found its way home. It looked well-fed and allowed people to approach it, so I think it's possible it could have an owner. If it's a stray, I hope that when it does emerge, someone has the heart to help it.

(For the difference between feral cats (that I mentioned in my previous post) and stray cats, click here: http://www.atlantaanimalalliance.com/faq1.htm.)

Feral cats in Australia

2008-08-28T10:28:00.001+10:00

I adopted my three-legged cat, Milly, from a local animal shelter
As a cat lover and a nature lover, I'm unsure how to feel about feral cats.

After a lot of thinking, I'm beginning to think there's no place for feral cats in Australia. They kill native wildlife; and even though their instincts are natural, their presence in our bush isn't natural.

Humanely trapping ferals and bringing them to animal shelters seems like the best thing to do.

My only problem with bringing ferals to animal shelters is that there are already so many unwanted cats; putting feral cats into animal shelters as well would only exacerbate the problem. (In 2006/2007, fewer than 43% of the cats RSPCA took in were reclaimed or rehomed.)

So if we don't want ferals in our bush, or in our animal shelters, then where can they go? As much as I love cats of all kinds, I don't think there's any place for feral cats here. I'm not sure what the solution is.

Predator Friendly® Certification

2008-08-20T20:02:00.011+10:00

A photo I took of the sheep at my boyfriend's farm (they aren't wolf prey since they're in Australia, where there are no wolves - dingoes aren't a problem on this farm)
In an online wildlife forum, someone mentioned Predator Friendly® Certification. To me, this seems like an excellent solution to the conflict between wolves and farmers.

Customers pay more for Predator Friendly® Certified products (wool, meat, etc.) produced by farmers who use non-lethal control to protect their livestock from native predators. To me, paying more for Predator Friendly® products is just like paying more for organic produce - it's feasible.

Examples of non-lethal methods of safeguarding livestock include using Maremmas (or other livestock-guarding animals), not dehorning cattle, moving livestock often, having a worker camp with the livestock (in the hope that human presence might keep predators away), and playing wolf howls from a stereo.

Shaun Ellis, an animal researcher who has lived among wolves, found using the latter method stopped a wolf pack from entering a farmer's property, since they believed it to be the territory of another wolf pack after hearing the wolf howls played on the stereo.

The most recent information on Predator Friendly® Certification I've been able to find was all published before 2006; if anyone knows of news about the certification (especially of how successful or unsuccessful it is) that is more recent, I would love to hear about it.

Native plants and native birds

2008-08-19T11:32:00.004+10:00

The native tree at the back of the garden attracted the most native birds - in hindsight I could have planted more native plants in our garden... (I've moved since)
In the past, I didn't know what the difference was between having a garden full of plants, and having a garden full of native plants - that was until I rented a property with a native plant in the garden.

Native plants attract native wildlife. My garden had a bottlebrush tree that attracted White-plumed Honeyeaters and Little Wattlebirds. The flowering native tree in my neighbouring garden attracted Rainbow Lorikeets, and occassionally, Eastern Rosellas. I think that's quite an impressive number of native birds for an inner-city garden to have. I didn't realise how much difference having native plants makes, although it seems obvious now.

My boyfriend studies planning, and in one of his current university projects, he proposes to re-vegetate an empty site with native plants to attract local wildlife. To get a range of birds and animals, he plans on planting trees as well as some understorey. He plans on planting trees that will provide leaf litter (small birds feed on insects living among leaf litter), and planting shrubs of varying sizes close together and underneath trees to form a dense understorey that will offer small birds protection. I won't explain his entire proposal here, but if his proposal is followed through, I imagine the site would be a pleasant area to sit on a bench and eat lunch amongst the sounds of twittering birds and rustling critters.

Zoos: are they good or bad?

2008-08-16T11:34:00.013+10:00

Valour the Wedge-tailed Eagle with his keeper at the Birds of Prey Presentation at Healesville Sanctuary
It annoys me that some animal lovers are against having zoos.

I think zoos are essential for educating the general public. Zoo animal show presenters encourage zoo visitors to practice good habits, like recycling and not littering. And in zoo "meet the keeper" sessions, keepers share their knowledge of and passion for wildlife with zoo visitors. Most importantly, zoo animals serve as embassadors for their species. Dr Maurice Hornocker, a wildlife researcher, said "To be inspired to save an animal, you have to see it first": in most cases, I think this is true.

Despite the fact that zoos are educational and ultimately contribute to conserving wildlife, some people dislike zoos still because animals in zoos are captive.

But I think captivity conditions have improved vastly. These days, zoo enclosures accommodate as many aspects of animals' natural environments as possible. What's more, most zoo animals are part of careful breeding programs and often are captive-born, a keeper at Werribee Open Range Zoo told me. Not only are breeding programs a better alternative to capturing wild animals, but in some cases, the breeding programs are a stronghold for many threatened, near-threatened and endangered species (such as the Helmeted Honeyeater, Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, and Tasmanian Devil, for instance). Also, most zoos take in injured wildlife as well: I think Kevin the Long-billed Corella at Healesville Sanctuary was taken in with a broken wing.

As long as zoo animals are properly cared for, isn't it worth having a handful of captive animals for the sake of education and awareness?

A Tasmanian Devil in his enclosure in Healesville Sanctuary - he's part of a breeding program that aims to maintain a healthy population of Tasmanian Devils

I appreciated the cuteness of this wallaby even more from seeing it at such close range at Healesville Sanctuary

Relocating wild animals: is it our best option?

2008-08-12T13:19:00.007+10:00

A photograph I took of a wild bull elephant at Okaukuejo camp in Namibia
What do you think of relocating wild animals?

I used to be all for it, until I read about its effects.

When wild animals are relocated, often, they lose family members, familiarity with the landscape, and knowledge that their ancestors have used and passed on for decades. Imagine being separated from your family, and then dumped in a new and foreign place, left to fend for yourself.

In some parts of Africa, elephant overpopulation is a problem, and authories' solution to this has been to cull the adults and relocate the youngsters (which are smaller and therefore easier to transport).

After relocating the youngers, a new problem emerged. These young elephants began attacking other species such as white rhinoceros. With no adults to maintain order, the young elephants were dubbed young "delinquents". A CBS article explains that one solution to this problem is bringing in older bull elephants to restrain these young delinquents. (Read the article at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/08/22/60II/main226894.shtml.)

But I can't help but wonder if relocating older bull elephants will cause its own set of problems. We've seen the effects of relocating young elephants. Granted, the young elephants were just that, younger, and an unguided upbringing was the main problem in that situation. But we don't know what the effects of taking an animal - of any age - away from its family and home might be.

It's believed that elephants have a higher level of "consciousness" than most other animals - there was an article called "Inside Animal Minds" in the March 2008 issue of National Geographic that explained how when people drew a red mark on an elephant's head and put it infront of a mirror, it was one of the few species who touched the red mark on its head (and not on the mirror), suggesting that it recognised that it was seeing itself. I wonder if relocation takes a harder toll on sentient beings such as elephants than previously thought.

Jim Dutcher mentioned delinquent elephants in his book Wolves at Our Door, and said that wolves "are similar to elephants in both their intelligence and strong social bonds" and speculated if "this country [the United States] is creating 'delinquent' wolves". How many other species share the intelligence and strong social bonds that elephants and wolves possess? More than we think, probably. And if this is the case, is relocating such animals our best option?

For now, relocation may be a better and less hasty alternative to outright culling. But it's worth considering if there are even more alternatives.

Conflict between humans and wolves

2008-08-11T19:04:00.009+10:00

My dog, Cassie, makes a better pet than a wolf
It seems, some of the tension between people and wolves in the United States comes from the belief that wolves kill livestock.

I'm reading Wolves at Our Door by Jim and Jamie Dutcher, and they raised some interesting points about the conflict between humans and wolves.

The first point Jim and Jamie Dutcher made is that wolves don't eat new kinds of meat (such as beef) unless they've seen another wolf eat it. This means that wild wolves probably wouldn't touch livestock normally. That is, unless they've seen another wolf eat livestock.

The types of wolves that would be accustomed to eating beef are captive wolves and wolf-hybrids kept as pets, according to Jim and Jamie Dutcher. If captive or hybrid wolves escape captivity (or are released, as is the fate of some wolf-hybrids that grow too dangerous to live amongst humans,) then it's likely these wolves would prey on livestock. If a wild wolf witnesses a captive or hybrid wolf eating livestock, it may begin eating livestock too.

This theory suggests that humans could be responsible for the wolves that do prey on livestock. This is mostly speculation, I believe; but whatever the reality is, it's clear that wolf research is essential, so we can find out if theories like this are true, and ultimately so we can quell the hatred of wolves.

Bird Clubs

2008-08-10T17:07:00.000+10:00

I took this photo of a Blue-faced Honeyeater
I'm a bird nerd, and it's surprising I haven't joined a bird club yet.

I decided to join a bird club, and I was glad to find a bunch of clubs to choose from. My options were Birds Australia, Bird Observation & Conservation Australia, and the Threatened Bird Network.

I decided to join Birds Australia to begin with.