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Sunshine Coast Wildlife
Rehabilitators Monthly Newsletter
Issue 3 June 2012
IN THIS ISSUE The adventurous accounts of possums...and other stories. pages 2-5
Taking a closer look at snakes pages 6-7
Amazing animal facts! page 10
DERM Info. page 11
BABY BIRDS The season will be here soon! page 8-9
BUDDY’S STORY page 5
Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve A National Treasure Page 12
Our front page babies, Pink & Perky faces only a mother could love! This newsletter can be passed on to anyone who would like to read it. Any contents copied from it and used elsewhere must give appropriate credit to the author and/or photographer. The views expressed in it are not necessarily shared by the editor or any other person involved with its’ production. Please e mail all submissions to walkaboutclaire@hotmail.com. This issue contains some expletives which may offend sensitive people. Rescue News
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THE COMMON BRUSHTAIL POSSUM
brushtails sort of look like a sentient ball of dryer lint, but that’s not their fault. Like any good camouflagenist (probably not a word) they’re just mirroring the colour of the place they live, which is Australian eucalypts. And Australian eucalypts, to quote Banjo Paterson, are grey as shit. If you want an interesting-coloured animal you need to go to the ocean where pods of blue whales use their total invisibility against the blue water to mug sharks or South America, where panthers are black because it is mainly night and In the urban centres of South East everyone is a Goth. Australia, Common Brushtail Possums are hated. They’re hated for S O M E B A C K G R O U N D , being noisy, for being aggressive, for LIGHTLY SEASONED WITH being ugly, for being destructive, FACTS racist, dodgy bosses, bad mothers, selfish lovers, for punching cyclists, As Melbourne city became more for pissing on the ozone layer, for established and urbanised, many Packed to the Rafters, for the use of species of mammal that were native the term ‘bling’ by my mother, for to the Melbourne area found the enduring career of Jennifer themselves relegated in diminished Hawkins even though she’s the numbers to less densely populated, human equivalent of a Coles docket. natively vegetated areas in Victoria. Here they could still do things like Common Brushtail Possums are not eat and sleep and successfully avoid dying at the paws of an overweight, well liked, is my point. asthmatic housecat. In the Common Brushtails defense, I’m here to tell you what I told my ex- that which you hate about them (me) are the things that make them (me) special. It is thus that I am leaving you (not you) for a life of promise (my parents’ house). Give me some space (a lift to the train station). If you don’t know what a Common Brushtail Possum looks like, let me sketch you a picture world with my word pencils. They’re about the size of a cat and range in colour from reddy brown to grey-y brown to grey-y reddy browny grey blacky whitey grey-y grey. Common 2
The Common Brushtail had a vastly different experience of urban Melbourne. In fact, they managed to make such a go of it in the Big Smoke that they are now the largest occurrence of any native Australian mammal. They are everywhere; in the trees, in the roofs, in any cavity in brickwork that isn’t already occupied by some painfully casual café that you can only fit your shinbone in and is manned by a barrister called 'Cereal'. Common Brushtails are remarkably successful and their success boils down to the fact that they are as adaptable as a Demtel kitchen utensil.
I’M GOING TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS Common Brushtails are adaptable for a few reasons. Firstly, they are dietary generalists. This means that unlike many other Australian mammals, they don’t rely on specific plants or prey for their food. They eat eucalypts, fruits, flowers and insects, depending on what’s closest to their mouth at the time it’s open. For the Common Brushtail then, the urban garden, with its compost bins, decorative flowers, fruit trees and vegetable patches is a buffet wonderland festooned with bits of your old egg. Secondly, Common Brushtails possess a very low metabolic rate. This allows them to survive in adverse conditions and with less food. It’s similar to how Angelina Jolie survives, when she goes on her daily hike into the wilderness of her own ego. Thirdsomely, Common Brushtails have a big, adaptable brain. Unlike other marsupials like the koala- that falls off the perch at the smallest disturbance in its habitat or diet- the Common Brushtail just rewires a bit and continues on, like a heroic robot of olde. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Common Brushtail adaptability is their social behaviour. Or rather, it’s interesting if you’re me. From what I understand a lot of you aren’t me, so if you’re bored and want to leave this blog, here’s a link to something else. See you round. Those guys are idiots for leaving. They’re going to miss the shitty graphs I’ve made. Rescue News
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wait to teach some Yuletide robbers a segueing into seamlessly with this Below is a shitty graph I made lesson. sentence. showing the division of activities within the average Common B r u s h t a i l d a y. To p u t i t i n So hellbent are Common Brushtails Y O U AND COMMON perspective, I’ve done a side-by-side on their solitude that they have BRUSHTAILS AND YOU AND comparison with me, a female human developed a number of ways to warn COMMON BRUSHTAILS AND freelancer: other Brushtails off their territory. YOU First is a series of threatening body postures, as evidenced in the drawing below: Common Brushtails require a tree that’s 115cm in diameter to create a nest. For a eucalypt to be that big it needs to be at least 200 years old. And given a 200-year-old tree is hard to come by in urban Melbourne, Next is a highly developed larynx Common Brushtails improvise- using that makes close to 20 distinct their smarts and your roof.
As you can see, a Common Brushtail Possum grooms considerably more than your average female human freelancer. Similar to the average female human freelancer however, Common Brushtails spend very little time with their own species. During the mating season, it takes 30 days for a male to get close enough to a female to get some action- such is the females desire to be left alone with her Roseanne boxset and the aioli she just found on her top. ‘But why?’ I hear no one ask. ‘Why don’t Common Brushtails like each other?”
vocalisations. These vocalisations are normally heard just outside your bedroom window at 1am after you’ve stupidly watched a Japanese horror film about a haunted minidisk player on SBS. The sounds, as you well know, range from the low growl of something that is probably going to kill you, to the rasping hiss of something that is definitely going to kill you. And so you curl up into a tight ball of bedsheets, listening to the commotion outside until finally, fear cuts off circulation to your brain and you pass out, dribbling and pantless.
People tend to think they have a Common Brushtail Possum in their roof when in fact they have rats, ghosts or ratghosts. You can ascertain who is subletting your house a few different ways: 1. A Wiji board. A very effective device if you have ghosts, using a Wiji board will however, put your home at risk of infestation by hysterical twelve-year-old girls and their affiliated nighttime dental wear.
2. A Census. Slip a copy into an air vent along with some pencils and In fact, Common Brushtail possums retrieve a few days later to discover use these vocal acrobatics to make that our education system has sure their basic message of “Get the completely failed our marsupials. shitting f**k out of my tree” is Pawprints. Common Brushtail articulated without having to resort to 3. potentially fatal physical contact. It’s front pawprints have five evenly a very smart ploy for the survival of spaced toes and the hind foot has their species, but for our species, is kind of a thumb mark. Uncommon like trying to sleep through a metal Brushtail pawprints have Goldrushd i n o s a u r d r y - h u m p i n g y o u r era wagon wheel indentations and a trail of slime. eardrums.
Well Jiggy McFakename, it’s because the Common Brushtail is a large animal that requires a lot of food and a big nest to survive. As such, Common Brushtails simply can’t share the resources of a territory with another individual. And so they live alone, like novelists and It is this very subject of Common 4. If you want to stop enjoying your murderers and precocious, wet- Brushtails and humans that I’m life for a bit, crawl into your roof and in the half-dark, really investigate the lipped 9-year-old boys who can’t Rescue News
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fecal matter of your tenant. Common Brushtail poo is 1.5-2 cm long and cylindrical, rodent poo is smaller and spherical. Frankly, we were fools to ever confuse them. If you do indeed have a Common Brushtail in your roof and you’re no longer enjoying the smell of marsupial piss in your wall cavities, you’ll have to remove it at some stage. Just remember that all Australian native species are protected, meaning you can’t harm an animal or remove it from its territory. So if you trap your possum and deposit it in some random patch of shrubbery two suburbs over- thus releasing it into certain death**please know that not only are your actions illegal but reincarnation-wise, you’ll be coming back as a rat STI***. So here’s what you do. First, make a nest box for your possum. Next, either wait for your possum to leave the roof for the night, or if you like a challenge and facial wounds, try to capture it when it’s still inside the roof. Once the possum is out via your preferred method, seal up that roof like a Nordic waterway. Then release your possum back into your garden, protecting your genitals from attack with one hand and pointing excitedly at the nest box with the other****. Then, over the coming months, rejoice in the wildlife at your doorstep by doing a series of backyard watercolour paintings that you never, ever give to me as a gift. CONCLUSIONS In my 31 years on the planet, I’ve had two Common Brushtail Possums rush my head, I’ve had three swipe at my face, I’ve been wrenched from sleep countless times by their 4
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screeches, I’ve had their urine drip down my ceiling onto my bedspread and one evening on my way home from work, I was pursued by an uncommonly fast Brushtail through the length of the Carlton Gardens and into oncoming traffic on Nicholson St. And even then, as my life flashed before my eyes and I realised that I’d mainly spent it watching the West Wing, I didn’t hate Common Brushtails.
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Night two and I’m pleased as punch at the way they’ve consumed their pick (unlike some common brushtails I could mention…) I waddle the two buckets of new pick into the aviary and start to refresh their restaurant. Mr Glare is watching me ferociously and I smile at him. Maybe that was the mistake.
This guy didn’t run out of the drey – he flew! One moment I’m holding So I suppose my point is, you should some lilly pilly leaves, the next I’m holding a ringtail on my wrist. Or all try and be more like me. rather, he’s holding me, gnawing and Have a great weekend. shaking his head, obvlious to the blood and my squeaks of pain. Snake Mechano xx I gather a lilly pilly branch and start AKA Kate McCartney - Blogger to smack him around the head. He glares some more and then calls it I could not resist including this very quits, scampering back to his drey. well written blog. Sometimes there is very little to laugh about in the OK, I think – what I’ll do is put a world of wildlife so I have decided to towel in the drey hole while I refresh try and produce a newsletter that their pick and then whisk it out as I has some comic content! Ed leave…. Ha! The towel worked but I misjudged the time it would take me I must admit I couldn’t remember all to exit after removing it. their names. 5 juvenile ringtails Yesterday’s attack is repeated, brought to me for some ‘large aviary leaving further bloody track marks time’ prior to release. up my arm. The first night I just called them all This is not good at all. ‘guys’ and spread their pick around the aviary to give them a chance to I have another ‘aha!’ moment and decide to dress for the occasion. I put munch in peace. on not one but two thick pullovers One little fella glared at me out of the and enter the battle ground. He drey but I shrugged this off as a watches me. I watch him. ‘Do your ‘Who brought me HERE?’ grump. best’ I challenge and he does, I didn’t talk to him or move closer to gnawing furiously at my pullover but the drey – they were here to be not reaching flesh. I let him dangle dehumanised. there while I place the pick and he Rambo Ringtail
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finally gives up and goes back to Something tells me Rambo and I bed. have a few confrontations to go. Two or three nights of this and he’s Sammy Ringer given up. He doesn’t even come to his hole to glare when I enter the aviary and I heave a sigh of relief – Many thanks to Sammy for sending in this account of life with Rambo. but still dress for the unexpected. Yesterday, a potential carer came Please e mail all submissions to round and I took her through the walkaboutclaire@hotmail.com feeding routine. The two brushtails smiled at us sweetly as we moved around the aviary. I told the would-be carer the funny story about the ringtail. “Come and meet him – though you won’t see him as he doesn’t bother anymore.’ I said naively, dressed like an idiot in a T-shirt only. Yep, you know the ending. Maybe it was the would-be carer’s strange voice. Maybe it was because it was a Tuesday. Maybe it was because he saw me so poorly protected. Rambo the Ringtail flew from his hole and latched onto my hand. When I moved my arm, he latched onto my tit. When I bent over to grab a lilly pilly branch, he gave my arm one last, deep bite and flew back into his drey. “It’s nothing,’ I squeak, splashing blood everywhere. The would-be carer is white. I’m pretty red. Rambo the Ringtail is sound asleep again, having won his battle. I don’t know if I’ll see the would-be carer again.
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BUDDY’S STORY This isn’t a happy tale unfortunately - not everything can be, but this was so avoidable. Buddy came into my care on May 21st. I took a call from a MOP who had found him and wanted him to be taken into care and placed with other ringtail possums. During the conversation I discovered that she’d had him for a week and suspected he had a broken leg, not only that but she was caring for other wildlife and all without a permit and proper training. One of his hind legs was indeed broken and required surgery. To think he had been dragging it around for a whole week and pressing on fractured bone, the pain must have been horrific. He was underweight - he had survived a week on a diet of fruit cup cordial and small amount of greens. This MOP had been a carer in the past and in conversation prided herself in her abilities. To say that the staff taking care of Buddy were beside themselves with dismay is an understatement.
anti-biotics. This is always a very precarious situation and it was hoped that he would be able to get through any adverse effects. He came home to me a week after his operation. His drey was all ready for him and he seemed quite well during the first day. The worse part was administering the pap...he really didn’t like it but he had to have it and it took a long time to get 3ml into him. He was a wriggly little 670gms of fur with a very sore leg. Within 48 hours he was dead. His blood glucose plummeted and I was back at AZWH at 10pm the following night. Sadly 36 hours later he had to be euthanised. If he had been taken for treatment when he’d been found the outcome could have been completely different. Sad & an unnecessary death. Thank you to Dr Robyn Stenner & staff for all they did for Buddy. Ed
Buddy’s operation was a success but because the fracture had been open for a week he had to have 5
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TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT SNAKES Eastern Brown Snake Species name: (Pseudonaja textilis)
introduction of mice and rats has created ideal habitat & abundance of food.
Other Common names: Common General habits: Diurnal, active Brown Snake, Brown Snake hunter but has been seen active on hot nights. Not regarded as a climbing species but may Significance to Humans: Highly occasionally climb in search of potential prey. Quick to retreat most Venomous Bites from this species have caused s p e c i m e n s a r e u s u a l l y s e e n human fatalities. A nervous, ready disappearing into available cover. biter it will defend itself if threatened. Maintains a strong defensive "S" shaped posture. The second most toxic land snake in the world and the most venomous in South East Queensland. Bites from this species should be treated immediately and attended to with correct first aid. General description: Highly variable in colouration and pattern. Colour ranges from pale tan through orange, russet, dark brown & almost black, sometimes with cross-body banding. Belly usually cream, yellow or orange with scattered orange or grey blotches. Hatchling and juveniles particularly vary in colour, frequently having dark heads or neck bands, or being completely banded along the body length. Midbody scales at 17 rows. Average Length: 1.4 metres but a specimen of 2.3 metres was recorded from Karalee. Snakes in excess of 1.8 metres are very uncommon. Habitat in SE Qld: Wide range of habitats but generally prefers drier habitat. Dry open forest, wood and shrub-land, grassland, farmland. Very successful in agricultural regions where tree clearing & 6
Diet: Primarily small mammals (rats, mice etc) but also lizards and occasionally frogs. Local distribution: Most common large venomous snake. Readily occurs in all but the inner suburbs of Greater Brisbane but especially to the west throughout Ipswich and the Lockyer and Brisbane Valleys. Common along bayside suburbs to the north and south including the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. A ro u n d t h e h o m e : Often encountered in and around localities with a strong rodent presence such as bird aviaries and stock feed sheds. Due to its active foraging nature it often enters homes through gaps afforded to it by open or gaps under doors. Any ground refugia may be utilised such as timber piles, sheet iron, rock walls and heavy vegetation. The maintenance of yards and the control of spilt seed and other food associated with pets may assist in the control of rodents which this species exploits so well.
Information taken from Wildlife Queensland web site.
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Species name: Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata) Local distribution: Common & widespread throughout Brisbane. Other Common names: Green Tree Snake, Yellow-bellied Black Snake, Around the home: Probably the Grass Snake. most common species to enter homes. Generally above ground Significance to Humans: Non- environs such as heavy foliage of venomous. trees and shrubs, exposed beams of Inoffensive and bites infrequently. verandahs and pergolas, sheds and Emits a strong odor from the cloaca garages. Fast-moving and hard to see if handled firmly. in heavy cover. Have exploited the abundant supply of Asian house General description: Sleek slender Geckoes, high densities of skinks and body with long, very thin tail. presence of frogs in continually Distinctive ridge extends along outer watered localities associated with edges of belly making shed skins s u b u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t s t h u s easily identifiable. Wide colour accounting for there frequency ranges from green, olive, brown & around homes. black to rare blue-grey on upper body. Belly yellow or creamy, with bright yellow present on throat. Some specimens with blue or grey belly but generally maintain the yellow coloration above the ventral ridges. Skin between the scales when spread show as a light sky blue especially after consuming a meal larger than its body diameter or when defensive. Eye appears large comparative to head. Midbody scales at 11 -13 rows (rarely 15). Average Length: 1.2 meters but a specimen of 1.96 meters has been recorded. SNAKE BITE FIRST AID Habitat in SE Qld: Wide range of habitats from the periphery of DO NOT rainforest, wet sclerophyll forests, dry woodland, farmland, and 路 Do not wash or clean the bite site. Venom residue left on the skin may be suburban backyards and gardens used by medical professionals to potentially identify the species of snake throughout the region. involved and administer the correct anti-venom. 路 Do not cut the bite site. This can aid in venom progressing to the General habits: Diurnal (Active by bloodstream and cause further symptomatic response. day) 路 Do not apply an arterial tourniquet or elevate the bitten site. This may cause tissue damage and affect blood flow to other parts of the body. Diet: Predominantly frogs and 路 Do not attempt to catch or kill the snake. Attempting to catch or kill the skinks. animal can lead to further bites and injuries. If possible take a digital photo. RESCUE NEWS
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BABY BIRDS Well it’s almost that hectic time of year again when baby birds fall out of trees, get abandoned by parents, become orphaned etc etc and then our work starts.
Baby birds seem to do much better when they are ‘creched’ togther, especially species like magpies, kookaburras etc The feeding is demanding and the relentless gaping and squarking can send you bonkers...but, the rewards are amazing. Last season I took in way too many babies, 28 in all. 23 of them were magpies and I managed to release 18 back to the wild. The other five were kookaburras. I will not be doing that number again this year! A group of 4-6 magpies works well for instance and when release time comes it’s a good number for solidarity out there in the wide world. I have found that soft release, where possible, is preferable and magpies in particular should not really be released until around March time, even April is OK at a push. If you work can you take your babies to work with you? You will need to feed regularly - little and often, just as the parents would do. If you can’t take babies to work, stick to adult birds that only require 1-2 feeds per day. Never be tempted to over feed babies - just because they continually gape doesn’t mean you need to continually feed! Usually, about 2-3 minutes after feeding they will want to poo...be ready with tissues. Any faeces needs to be cleaned immediately...birds do not like sitting in there own mess. Mum would either clean up after them or they poke their little bottoms out over the nest...so, it’s up to you. AND NEVER GIVE BABY BIRDS WATER! Wet the food slightly to help it slip down
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Four of my baby magpies last season. They came in bedraggled and in need of a serious clean up. They has just had their baths and now drying off in front of the tumble dryer outlet! All bar one of these little guys made it to release. but never be tempted to give them water. It is very easy to kill a small bird this way - inhalation is a sure fire way to put the kibosh on seeing that chick through to release. All baby birds require at least half an hour of sunshine per day for normal healthy growth so, take them outside with a book and a cuppa and let them, and you, soak up some vitamin D...if it’s raining don’t bother! If you work use your smoko or lunch break to do this and you can also do a feed at the same time. Don’t leave babies in direct, full sun...it’s very easy to ‘cook’ your chicks...sunlight doesn’t mean crispy fried. Clean up any mess they make whilst feeding, the last thing you want is flies, bugs and other undesirable creatures making a B line for the babies and also it’s not nice for the chicks either. Happy chick season....Ed
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AVERGE WEIGHT OF BIRDS IN THE WILD SPECIES WEIGHT Bar shoulder dove
120-160gm
Black duck
900-1100gm
Black faced cuckoo shrike 100-150gm Blue faced honeyeater
100-160gm
Black swan
4-5 kilos
Channel-billed cuckoo
600-650gms
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FOODS TO KEEP ON HAND FOR BIRD CARERS
• Small parrot seed – try not to use WILD
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BIRD MIX as this is too high in fat and is unbalanced as a diet for rehabilitation. A combination of budgie and finch seed is preferable. Insectivore – used to mix with mince and other fresh meats for meat eating birds. Wombaroo Honey Eater/Lorikeet mix – feeds who it says on the box! Calcium powder – added to feeds as a supplement Vetafarm Soluvet (or similar) vitamin supplement added to feeds Frozen mince – try and use premium mince where possible, economy mince has too high a fat content. Freeze into small amounts – only keep frozen for 3 months max. Frozen Whiting – bait fish is fine, frozen prawns can be kept too. Frozen mice – these are expensive, usually $3 each but it’s good to have a few on hand. Egg & biscuit mix – added to some feed mixes Fine shell grit Chick starter – Used in feed mix 6 for wader, ducks etc Veg & fruit Paswells hand rearing mix – parrot chicks Frozen Insects – moths, mealworms, crickets etc
Common koel
200-240gm
Fig bird
100-135gm
Friar bird
55-70gm
Galah
300-380gm
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Grey butcher bird
75-110gm
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Kookaburra
350-460gm
Lapwing
350-385gm
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Magpie
260-320gm
Magpie lark (pee wee)
260-320gm
Noisy minor
50-80gm
Peaceful dove
45-60gm
Artificial nest
Pelican
6-7.5 kilos
Pheasant coucal
500gm
Pied butcher bird
120-160gm
Rainbow lorikeet
100-150gm
Red wattle bird
50-145gm
Sacred kingfisher
40-50gm
An ice-cream container with drainage holes can be cable tied back up into a tree that a baby bird has fallen from or who has been practicing branching and is not quite ready! Always set up artificial nest in a sheltered position. Watch for parents returning to chick/baby as it calls out. It can be a very good idea to place a twig across the top and attach through holes. This will give the parent birds a great platform to feed from. It’s also a good idea to cable tie some foliage from the tree onto the nest. This will provide natural camouflage from
Scaly breasted lorikeet
70-90gm
(Reproduced from An Introduction to Bird Caring by Ailsa Watson)
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predators and some protection from the elements. It is a good idea also to ask the person who called the rescue in if they could keep an eye on whether or not the parents are continuing to feed the baby. If not then the baby/chick should be collected and taken into care. 9
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Amazing Animal Facts
Only the female red back spider bite is dangerous to humans.
The last Tasmanian tiger died in a Hobart zoo on 7th Sept 1936.
The female green sea turtle lays it eggs in the same place as it was born.
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The Echidna found in Australia is the Short-beaked Echidna and along with the Platypus are the only members of the monotreme family which are Mammals that lay eggs and produces milk for its young. Echidnas sometimes referred to as Spiny Anteaters resemble the Hedgehog and the Porcupine in that they are covered by sharp spines. The Echidna is found all over Australia and can survive a range of temperatures and habitats Though mostly nocturnal, in mild weather they can be seen during the day, but if the weather is extreme (either very cold or hot) Echidnas will stay in shelter. (under rocks, fallen timber or burying themselves in the ground)
The female green sea turtle returns to the same place each year to lay eggs.
The correct terminology for a turtles shell is a carapace.
The Red Bellied Black Snake can give birth to up to 40 live snakes at one time.
Sugar Gliders can glide through the air for up to 100 metres.
The Tree Kangaroo can leap up to 15 metres to another tree.
Wombats can often sleep with their four feet sticking up in the air!
If rain lands on the Thorny Devils back, it runs down the creature finding its way to its mouth where it is consumed.
DEFENCE There is normally 3 options open to an Echidna when it feels threatened 1) Run away on its short stubby legs if on a hard surface such as a road or rocks 2) Curl itself into a ball protecting its softer underbelly, and only showing sharp spines to its threat (see pic on left) 3) Burrows down below the surface of the soil showing only its spines along its back, and holding on below the surface with its claws thus resisting being pulled out of the ground. The female Echidna develops a pouch at the start of the mating season which occurs in July and August. 3 weeks or so after matting the female digs a burrow and lays 1 soft leathery like egg into this pouch. It takes 10 days for an Echidna egg to hatch.
The Thorny Devil has the ability to change colour.
The Wedge-tailed Eagle is Australia's largest bird of prey. Information from Australian-Animals.net RESCUE NEWS
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DERM INFORMATION
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increasing human population
Nature refuges
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infrastructure development
Nature Conservation Act 1992
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mining and resource extraction.
Landholders can protect native wildlife and wildlife habitat by having their property declared a nature refuge. Nature refuges can be declared over any land, leasehold or freehold. They protect significant natural resources such as wildlife habitat and provide for controlled use of those natural resources, taking into account the landholder’s interests. This does not change the ownership of the land. When a property, or part of a property, becomes a nature refuge, a voluntary conservation agreement is signed to protect the land’s conservation value and to guide the way the property is managed. This agreement is between the State of Queensland and the landholder and may be binding on future landholders. Activities and management arrangements are detailed in the conservation agreement. The property can still be used for agriculture, grazing, timber production and tourism, provided those activities are ecologically sustainable. Biodiversity is in decline Scientific evidence shows that on a global scale biodiversity is declining. While Australia and Queensland still has many wild places and a diversity of plants and animals, biodiversity is declining here too. Protected areas, forests and wildlife are under pressure from a range of threats. These include: •
habitat fragmentation, including the short and long-term effects
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altered water flows in rivers and catchments
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pollution on land and in water
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invasive species, including plants, animals and diseases
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inappropriate fire regimes
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the increased urban foot print, particularly in South East Queensland and coastal areas
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Managing access for emerging mining and energy industries. Coal seam gas, greenhouse gas storage, and geothermal energy exploration are new and important sectors in the mining and energy sector. These bring additional pressure for access to protected areas and forests. QPWS recognises the importance of these new energy sectors to the Queensland economy. While mining and extractive industries are prohibited on national parks (all classes) and conservation parks consistent with the Nature Conservation Act 1992, it will become increasingly important that the impacts of this industry are minimised on other QPWS managed lands such as state forests. This will require close partnerships with government, industry and the community to ensure that these activities are avoided in the first instance and that where they do occur the effects are minimised, mitigated, offset and compensated.
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An ecological island of national significance The Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is a 55 hectare remnant of the subtropical rainforest (complex notophyll vineforest) that previously covered the southern end of the Blackall Range and valleys on the west side of the range. The Reserve is currently an ecological island with no continuous habitat linkages to other nearby remnants. One of the best things we can do, as rehabilitators, is to observe wildlife in its natural habitat. Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is one of the best places to do this. A visit can teach so much about natural habitat, behaviours and the importance of preserving these decreasing sanctuaries. This is a place I visit often and every time I go I usually see something different. Scrub turkeys building their mound nests, snakes basking in the dappled sunlight, catbirds calling out their eerie yowl, red legged pademelons quietly going about their business - frogs, an array of wonderful birdlife and beautiful subtropical rainforest surroundings. Last time I visited I took these photos of fungi. There was an abundance of varieties, sizes, colours and shapes and vibrant lichen growing on fallen trees as they decay and become part of the understorey.
Take only photographs, leave only footprints. Our Reserve is what is known as an "ecological island", meaning there are no vegetation paths or habitat links between Mary Cairncross and other nearby forest remnants. While independent assessments have shown that our plant life is in good health, less is known about our animals. It seems that some terrestrial animals that were once present in the Reserve have now departed including the long-nosed potoroo and rufous bettong. Other animals may become threatened over time including the red-legged pademelon. The bird population is diverse due to nearby habitat but once again they may be threatened by further habitat fragmentation. Our Management Plan aims to protect the reserve and its biodiversity for future generations to enjoy, and includes the following objectives:
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Development of partnerships with local landholders and conservation groups in developing off-reserve conservation programs;
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Exploring opportunistic land acquisition for buffer and habitat corridor creation;
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Establishing a vegetation link between the main Reserve and the Annexe; and
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Instituting traffic calming on Mountain View Road.
Access to all of this for a gold coin - a bargain in anyone’s book. The main reason I do like visiting is because of the abundance of wildlife and to be able to watch and study life being played out as it should. Despite the fact that I don’t care for marsupials, I’ve never looked after a cat bird and I don’t have a permit for venomous snakes doesn’t mean that I am not learning. Exposure to our natural environment is a great teacher in itself and far more informative than any good book. If we are going to care for wildlife I believe that an understanding of the environment and how vulnerable habitat is,is absolutely vital. So if you haven’t visited Mary lately, or ever, put it in your diary to give it a go - you won’t be disappointed. Ed RESCUE NEWS
07 5429 6122 148 Mountain View Road Maleny, Qld 4552 Australia