|
|
Latest Newsletter
Sept 2008 |
|
|
News |
------------------------------------- |
Echidna Workshop a Great Success WILVOS certainly had a great roll-up for their Dr Peggy Rismiller Echidna workshop. Over seventy people attended, wildlife carers and non-wildlife carers, from all over Queensland and even members from the New South Wales Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers group, based in Lismore. Many expressed their appreciation of the fact that they had the chance to listen to this amazing lady, who has so much knowledge due to her twenty years research of these unique little mammals, down at Kangaroo Island. We all thank the Eumundi Historical Society for giving us this opportunity.
Peggy's initial interest in Kangaroo Island was to study tiger snakes, but circumstances led to her working in the field with echidnas. Quite a contrast – I know which animal I would rather research! At this stage, Peggy had never seen an echidna in the wild, yet her first job there was to find echidnas that had an egg in their pouch!
After an incredible amount of hours tramping around the island with binoculars, and deciphering the secret code to identifying  an egg-carrying echidna, Peggy one day observed an echidna displaying some indications of impending motherhood! On closer inspection of the echidna, it was discovered that the egg was actually hatching. An unforgettable experience, and one which allowed so much knowledge to be gained. The eggs are only the size of a five cent piece and weigh even less than this coin. Very careful not to upset the delicate balance of research and nature, this little puggle was carefully weighed and monitored on a regular basis. A truly learning experience to be able to monitor such a unique mammal for twenty years, and this has been done.
We have to continue to get the word out there that echidnas should not be relocated. The WILVOS 5441 6200 hotline often gets calls where people have found an echidna in their yard and they have the urge to take it off to a nice piece of bush somewhere. The advice is always the same – “lock the cats and dogs away, leave the echidna in peace and it will move off of its own volition.” Even if the location may not seem ideal, these mammals cover a big  area and, if moved, will try to return to the original spot. One echidna at Kangaroo Island was tracked 40 kilometres, returning to the spot from which it had been moved. Another reason why relocation of echidnas is not a wise move is that there may be a young puggle in a burrow nearby, waiting for Mum to come and feed it in a few days time.
The quietest time of the year for echidnas on Kangaroo Island is April/May. Then once the shortest day of the year comes, the activity starts. Regardless of whether it is the northern or southern hemisphere, the length of daylight hours is a major influence on the breeding cycle of echidnas in the wild in Australia and in zoos across the world.
If echidnas go into a torpid state it is more for the sake of saving energy, because there is less food, than because the weather is cold.
It is always a challenge to pick up an echidna, as they can hang on to even concrete with seemingly magnetic force! At the workshop, Peggy said they found the best way was to kneel behind the echidna, putting the hands behind the front legs and patiently waiting for the animal to relax, then scooping it up. As with all Australian native animals, stress has to be minimized at all times. At all native animal workshops it is emphasized “stress is a killer”.
I could write for days about these incredible animals but suffice to say they are just so unique and have survived since dinosaur days, even though they cannot bite, don't have poisonous spurs and just can't injure us in any way. They have many secrets to divulge!
Back to Top
-------------------------------------
Bushfire Creates Longer Term Issues for Our Wildlife
Where would WILVOS be without all those caring people out there? I wish we could save all the injured and orphaned wildlife that is brought to us, but unfortunately that is not to be.
Once again, I had an adult female common brushtail possum brought to me that was very ill. Despite medication and lots of tender loving care, this beautiful animal died. Marks on her indicated she had a narrow escape from a dog, but the damage was done. This possum and her family have been lovingly observed for many years by Josephine, the lady who took the possum to the vet when she found her on her shed floor, very lethargic. Though she did have a young possum with her, it was large enough to be independent, but is also being strictly monitored by ‘foster mum'! As with Penny's mother over a month ago, the only consolation is that they have lived in this tough world long enough to reproduce.
WILVOS also appreciate the calls to our 5441 6200 throughout the bushfire time. So many little nesting birds and other ground dwelling animals die from smoke inhalation, which is just a tragedy. Their source of food has been destroyed which bring more wildlife around suburbia looking for sustenance over the months following a fire. This means an increase in car injuries and deaths, and injuries from domestic pets. People can help by keeping their pets contained when they can't be with them. WILVOS are always happy to help with any queries on our wildlife after these disasters.
It has been a very busy time in my household, as I have been ‘babysitting' two red-necked wallabies, a swamp wallaby and another furless whiptail, a future friend for Grace. They were all perfectly behaved, but bottle time was busy time. I enjoyed Thumper, Goldy and Sammy coming back for their visit - they always were angels! I must have brought them up well!
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
WE CAN ALL DO IT! This was the message at the recent WILVOS Seabird Workshop, with Marny Bonner from Ballina's Australian Seabird Rescue facility. It was good to see members of the public attend and enjoy this interesting workshop.
As with taking any Australian wildlife into care, WILVOS do require special permits, but we do not need to have a special permit to capture a pelican and remove a hook or untangle fishing line from its body. We do not have to have a special permit to give the correct advice over the phone when someone rings in with a seabird problem, probably pertaining to a pelican, so the more knowledge we glean the better!
As Marny says, “Pelicans are so simple!” Sure they look big and scarey but they are a very relaxed patient by wildlife standards. That beak would give you no more than a scratch, even if the pelican thought it had anoth er purpose other than devouring fish! After capturing one, (and relatively ‘simple' techniques were displayed), it is advisable to have a towel on the lap for them to grip onto with their feet, otherwise a grimace may be in order!
Hooks do not rust away in a couple of days. They stay in the bird, infection follows and it dies. That too is simple! I don't need to elaborate on fishing line entanglement. The main culprit with fishing line and pelicans is not discarded line—that is more of a problem for waders of the bird world. In a high percentage of cases, pelicans acquire their injuries right at the fishing sites. We all see them hanging around for that free fish!
Marny also said wildlife carers should not wait for calls on our 5441 6200 about a bird being entangled in line or wearing fishing hooks for jewellery. The answer is in PRO-ACTIVE PATROLS! If all the pelican areas are regularly patrolled, suspect birds caught and checked, hooks and line removed, then the birds can be instantly released again. Only birds which have established infection, or have injuries needing attention, need to be brought into care. That is simple! PRO-ACTIVE PATROLS solve the problem before it becomes major.
So the next step is of course finding more volunteers with time to patrol our pelican inhabited areas for regular checks of the birds. A form of preventative medicine!
Unfortunately, I don't have enough hours in the day to be involved in this project, though I would love to. My little whiptail wallaby ‘Grace' is slowly showing a greyish tinge in her exquisite pink satiny skin, so maybe she could almost have fur coming through by Christmas! My Christmas present! Maybe then I'll have time to go wrestle pelicans!
Meanwhile, the Echidna Workshop will be held on Sunday 12 th October in Nambour for anyone interested. It will be another fascinating workshop which will broaden our knowledge of these Australian treasures.
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
Eumundi Historical Society Donation for Echidna Workshop. The Eumundi and District Historical Society, locally known as the E.H.A., have once again given out an enormous amount of money to about twenty different not-for-profit local community organizations on the Sunshine Coast.
Beneficiaries of their donations were from such a variety of associations, from the Riding for the Disabled, to Playgroups, Schools, RSPCA, RSL, the McGreevey Foundation, the Eumundi Swimming Pool complex and the 2 nd Light Horse Regiment Woombye, with donation amounts relevant to the different association's needs. Their generosity is just wonderful, and I can't describe the feeling of pride, as a WILVO, that our wildlife care group was chosen as a worthy recipient for their donation.
Because of the E.H.A donation, WILVOS are able to have a workshop on echidnas from the top international expert. Dr  Peggy Rismiller has been researching these delightful Australian native mammals for twenty years, so “knows more than the average bear”! The research facility on Kangaroo Island leads the way on knowledge of these monetremes and Peggy and the crew down there are willing to impart this knowledge to wildlife carer groups. Even Peggy says that there is so much to learn about these enigmatic creatures. Though they can research “burrow” echidnas, the very young ‘puggles' in their mother's ‘pouch' retain their secrets for a little longer. We know the basics, such as the mother having milk ‘patches' rather than teats, but precise details on how often the young one feeds etc are still unknown.
So few people even know the name of a young echidna. “Puggles” are very different little orphans to hand-rear so we wildlife carers are all looking forward to this segment of the workshop. The workshop on the 12 th October is open to anyone who is interested. When I have calls from people with echidnas in their yard, they are usually unaware of the fact that it is not unusual that these animals should be ‘grooving around' in the cool of the night! Another reason to keep our dogs and cats contained! It is sometimes difficult to convince people that the echidna should not be moved. If relocated, they may have a puggle in a burrow nearby and suddenly there is no Mum to feed them. It is not possible to differentiate between a male and a female echidna. The female only forms her temporary  ‘pouch' when it is required.
Personally, I have reared young echidnas and find them just so different from my usual kangaroo and possum joeys. I have to restrain myself from keeping them warm and feeding them every four hours! Echidnas need to be kept cool, not warm, and are fed every three days at the very most! So I spend the rest of my time running around in circles, wringing my hands, and wondering what else I can do to make them feel ‘at home', while knowing I can't keep checking on the little one and disturbing it!
On the Sunshine Coast we have so many echidnas that become victims of cars and domestic pets, yet so little is known about these incredible creatures that have been around since dinosaur times. That tells us something! But life is getting tougher as development encroaches on their habitat and people clear and burn low-growth plant and naturally mulched areas. Those fallen trees and rotting logs feed so many animals!
As always, our WILVOS 5441 6200 hotline number, is available 24 hours for calls about native animals injured or in distress. Our phone volunteer crawled out of bed to the phone at 2am last week, to be told there were two dogs walking along the highway. Just what she needed after four hourly wallaby feeds and four hours sleep!
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
The Birds are Busy Everywhere. This always seems to be a troublesome time of year for wildlife. Our WILVOS 5441 6200 number is there to help 24 hours a day and our volunteers do a marvelous job at providing this service. Most of our calls are in daylight hours, and the number of calls vary, depending on weather, time of year and such vagaries.
We have just recently held a new membership day, and fortunately a couple of people were interested in participating in our  fascinating training session for new phone roster volunteers. Either Roslyn or Jill are always happy to just train a couple of people at a time, and a comprehensive informative manual on Australian wildlife is given to all trainees. This training is done at a time and place that is convenient for the new members who wish to be a phone volunteer. Our rescue hotline works on a diversion system and it is done out of the phone volunteer's own home phone, so there is no need to go to an office to volunteer your services. It is a good chance to learn about wildlife, and get to talk to a variety of people. Some calls are peculiar – some years ago I had a lady who wanted me to go out and bury her dead goat! It took some persuading to explain this was not in my job description – and she was a lot younger and fitter than I was! New phone volunteers always have a back-up to call, in case they do get unusual or tricky enquiries.
At the moment, birds are busy everywhere raiding various materials to build their intricate nests. Each morning, I have birds waiting on the horse hair as I brush our dear old pony. Many of our hotline calls coming up to this time of year are little birds that have fallen out of nests, or nests that have fallen out of trees. With the little birds, if unable to get them back into their nests, a temporary nest can be made with a hanging basket or an ice-cream container with holes in the bottom, and leaf litter or such lining it. After stringing it up (out of cat's way) the adult birds often come back and feed their little one. Once we see that being done, we know the young birds are in the best hands. If no feeding is observed, then the chicks come into our care and we rehabilitate them until release time. Birds are in our care for a lot less time than our little mammals. I don't think my little wallaby is ever going to grow fur! Grace is still pink, but doing well, and I can stretch those night bottles to four and a half hours now!
I am really looking forward to the Marny Bonner Seabird Workshop on Sunday 28 th September in Nambour, and am amazed at the amount of people, who aren't actually WILVO members, who are coming along. We love to see this interest in our native wildlife, as by educating ourselves we are helping to save our wildlife's precarious future.
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
Humans and Wildlife Can Live Side by Side. I have had so many calls come through the WILVOS 5441 6200 rescue hotline lately. I guess it is just a forerunner to a busy Spring for wildlife carers everywhere.
As I drive from Yandina to Nambour I wonder if anyone else wonders why there are more dead possums on the road. Sadly, more cleared land and more development means more of these poor animals along with many other species are left homeless.
On the other hand, WILVOS have very caring members of the public who ring up when they see native wildlife in distress. A perfect example of this was last week, when a lady observed a possum, which had been a regular visitor to their house for some years, showing signs of major damage to the side of her face. After calling WILVOS, I lent her a possum trap which enabled the possum to be caught and taken to the local vets for assessment. Unfortunately, the injuries were too severe for the animal to be rehabilitated, and euthanasia was the only solution, but her little joey was a different story. Though sad, and obviously missing her Mum, little Penny (named after her rescuer!) took readily to lapping her special milk formula and is growing fast.
This adult possum would have died a slow, painful death without someone realizing that something needed to be done to help this animal. I shudder when I hear people say “it's nature”. It is not nature! In the majority of cases these injuries are the results of car hits or domestic animal attacks. Even if injuries are sustained from territorial fights amongst possums, what else can we expect when they are pushed out of their territory by land clearing, and have to then encroach on another possum's home and feed supply.
Humans, domestic pets and wildlife can live side by side, but compassion, understanding and respect has to be shown towards our beautiful, unique native animals.
A world record for annihilation of mammal species is not something of which Australians should be proud.
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
Bottle Feeding With Little Pinkie. When the phone rang I thought, “Oh,no! Not another native animal in distress!” That WILVOS 5441 6200 phone number has been getting an increasing number of calls, as development devours the Sunshine Coast and hinterland!
Not to worry, it was only the new editor of the Nambour Weekly, Erin, who asked if I had an article for the next paper! Mmmm…what to write about?
My brain is not functioning at total capacity as I am still on four hourly, around the clock, bottle-feeding with little ‘pinkie' (furless) wallaby, Grace. She is a real fighter so it is worth the battle. She has progressed to 260 grams so I am very optimistic about her survival. The main caring practices for furless native animals is that consistency of feeding times, along with sterile feeding utensils, the correct milk formula (and amount) and maintaining a constant 32 degrees temperature.
Due to time and energy constraints, Buddha and Suki, the two short-eared brushtail possums are now residing with Lesley, another carer in Nambour until their release in their nestbox which they love. I have also passed on Penny the common brushtail possum for the same reason, as I never know when the phone will ring and I have to take on another boarder. As wildlife carers are aware - before we know it, we have too many animals in care and no time to ring anyone up for help.
Yesterday, a lady not too far away brought around a beautiful tawny frogmouth that had been caught in a barbed wire fence. (Yes, barbed wire should be outlawed – I know how those farmers felt in the old Wild West days, going around cutting all the fences on the range!) Unfortunately, this bird had to be euthanased because of her extensive injuries, having been in the fence a long agonizing time till someone fortunately noticed her there. While she was caught in the fence, this tawny's mate stayed nearby, trying to protect her.
Very sad!
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
Echidnas Should Never be Relocated.
Once again, the Wildlife Volunteers Association Inc (WILVOS) are organizing an amazing workshop – this time with a world-renowned expert on echidnas.
About eight, maybe ten, years ago I heard Dr Peggy Rismiller speaking down at the Noosa Environment Centre. She was fascinating! The research that they were doing down at the Pelican Lagoon Research Station on Kangaroo Island was to provide, and is still providing, much needed information on these incredible Australian native animals.
Peggy is coming up to Nambour, the centre of our Sunshine Coast wildlife caring, on Sunday 12 th October. WILVOS have visitors coming from all over Queensland to attend this workshop. In February this year we had the privilege of organizing a workshop with veterinarian Dr Anne Fowler, and interested people came from Townsville, Stanthorpe, and many areas in-between. These same people are lining up again to hear Dr Peggy Rismiller!
Echidnas, along with all our native wildlife, are suffering at the expense of development in our beautiful corner of the world. Cars, dogs and cats are always there, often unrestrained in the case of the latter two. Unfortunately for them, echidnas only have their spines as a defense. I often think that if those spines were poisonous it would be better for the echidna!
Unfortunately, people will often see echidnas in their yard, or elsewhere, and have the overwhelming desire to move them to a patch of bush. Not a good idea! If dogs and cats are locked up, echidnas will proceed on their way in the cool of night, eating all our nasty little termites on the way! Echidnas should never be relocated, as they may have a young ‘puggle' in a burrow nearby, where they return and feed the young every few days. Another mistake people often make is to put injured or orphaned echidnas on artificial heat. This can kill them very quickly - these unique animals need cool and dark, instead of the usual warm and dark!
My first little puggle, (a victim of development down on the coast when presumably dislodged from his mother's ‘pouch' by a backhoe's activities), was quite a challenge. I was used to kangaroos and possums that needed four hourly feeding around the clock, in a warm environment. This total opposite style of care was an education for me as well as the ‘puggle'! When drinking, the easiest way to feed them is from the palm of the hand, as the little puggle sees this as more similar to their mother's ‘milk patch', which they have instead of teats. Fortunately, I was able to seek the latest expertise and the little treasure survived – even became a TV star!
Back to Top
------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
