A noisy pitta recovers after being attacked by a cat. Image: Donna Anthony
Reflecting on World Environment Day, what have we done for the environment in the past year? Our Wildlife Volunteers Association, can be proud of its achievements this year, once again providing a 24-hour hotline for injured and orphaned wildlife.
So often, callers are just so grateful that they reach an actual person instead of the ubiquitous answering machine. This initial phone call is just the first step in the long process of rehabilitating a compromised animal on the way to its eventual release back into the wild.
In the past twelve months the world has attacked the technological arena with the usual great zeal, progressing in leaps and bounds, while seeing everything through the eyes of financial gain.
On the other hand, ‘e’ books could ultimately be good for the environment. We must be optimistic about our future in the web of life, and strive for better.
I still walk through the supermarkets shaking my head. Who buys these spray cans of poison?
Why would someone spray toxins in their house, around their precious family, when a fly swatter, or equivalent, would achieve the same end?
It also defies all sensibilities to even consider buying some gadget that emanates artificial ‘smells’ throughout the house all day. What is wrong with fresh clean air?
Of course, it is all too simplistic. People have to be cajoled and encouraged to buy these products – to be convinced they can’t live without them. Not enough profits can be made from the basics. Give someone a bag of flour and sugar and just see how creative they can be in producing the next meal.
Insensitivity to the environment is a concern and that is probably why I am a wildlife carer. People have different ways of attacking a problem. To me our native wildlife has to survive, in these tumultuous times, for we, as humans, to survive.
I have great admiration for anyone in any field of environmental sustainability. Many people see caring for wildlife as a joyous activity. Oh, if it was always so.
I have recently had to have a beautiful swamp wallaby euthanased. Chased into a dam by dogs, she was past rehabilitation when brought into care.
I do get angry about these preventable disasters. To add to the tragedy, this female had one elongated teat, which meant somewhere, out there, was a young orphaned wallaby, either killed by dogs or dying of starvation.
Why can’t people control their domestic animals? Is it that difficult? I love to see people out walking their dogs on leads. Everyone is a winner.
There are always some humorous days in wildlife care. A recent release of a wood duck had me ‘in stitches’.
On its day of release, it showed a preference for human company to its fellow ducks. I felt like a guilty parent sneaking away after leaving an infant in daycare. Nevertheless, given just a couple of days, this young duck joined the other wood ducks of varying ages, on our dam. It was a happy release story.
We have other happy days, too. A Noisy Pitta, a bird which does not often come into our care, had been attacked by a cat.
Fortunately, the WILVOS 5441 6200 number was called and with immediate antibiotics that exquisite little bird was returned to its habitat after a week of dedicated nursing. The owners of the property had time to set up an aviary for the cat and all was well.
Over past years, people really have improved in some areas of pollution. I remember, as a child, the long drive, from the bush to the beach, on the traditional annual holiday and it was not uncommon to see the roadsides littered with bottles and rubbish.
Very few people in this day and age would just thoughtlessly throw rubbish out of a car window.
There is still some education to be done on the waterways.
Plastic bags and fishing line are still a major problem for our aquatic animals. The rings attached to jars and bottles are a never-ending worry. WILVOS have calls come through regularly to report animals trapped in these insidious pieces of plastic. Our Community Awareness Officer, Roslyn, was overjoyed when a class of schoolchildren presented her with a bagful of the rings they had collected from their homes. The young really are our future.
I was shocked at a photo showing a turtle converted to a figure 8 shape because one of the plastic rings off a large jar was encircling its middle.
It had been caught there as the poor animal continued to grow around it. Birds die of starvation as these rings choke them. Other animals try to remove these encumbrances, only to get their feet caught in the ring as well. I would encourage everyone to lobby the producers of these many products and ask that these seals be redesigned.
Meanwhile, it is easy to remove these rings and cut them in one or two places before disposal in the recycling bin. We can all make a difference in our individual ways. It was suggested to me recently that ringtail possums seemed to be one of the main mammals affected by urban development.
Pondering on the matter, it suddenly struck me that there was a good reason for this. The majority of the smaller marsupials have been decimated, their ground cover removed and the destroyed habitat leaving them no protection.
Ringtail possums are just the next step up in size to be affected. The larger brushtail species, though also impacted upon, have the advantage of that additional size. The ringtails are an easier target for domestic cats and dogs, which is the main reason why they come into our care.
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council is involved in a subsidised desexing program, and this is a major step in the much needed area of domestic animal responsibility and management.
I look forward to a future of cat curfews, cats housed in suitable aviary-like structures, and dogs confined to their yards, unless on a lead.
Designated areas are available for people to take dogs to play off the leash, and these areas hopefully will continue to be provided for pet owners. Ultimately, it would be good to see pet owners receive a subsidised desexing voucher when they register their animals.
They could then take this voucher to the vet, who would be recompensed on presentation to the council. If the community can take just small individual steps towards environmental awareness in the next year, the 2011 World Environment Day can be another day of celebration.
Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc. (WILVOS) Ph: 54 416 200
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