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

We didn’t need a crystal ball 10 years ago to predict what was going to happen in southeast Queensland, and we don’t need a crystal ball now to see what is ahead for our wildlife. It is depressing!

A common brushtail possum that was found as a pinkie in the middle of the township of Coolum

This isn’t unique to southeast Queensland.  I  have been reading statistics from fauna returns in North Queensland, and the impact is also being felt there.

Queenslanders know we are in ‘God’s own country’, so why can’t we see the necessity to preserve the qualities we love.
We have the technology and the climate to make a difference.

Individual households can be responsible for their own power and water useage.  Funds should be going to every household to ensure self-sufficient alternative power sources (such as solar), and water catchment. This all effects our wildlife in the long run.

I intensely dislike visiting subdivisions where forests have been demolished to make way for housing blocks that daily look deserted.  Inhabitants are either working or at school. So why have a house and yard?

It is so much wasted space.  It would be kinder to our environment to encourage multi-storey development, and provide ample public space, sporting facilities,  bikeways and walkways  for the ever-growing population. The transport, fuel and energy savings alone would be phenomenal.

Simple ideas are never looked upon as a solution.  There always has to be a complicated,  expensive alternative.  Otherwise, it will not be taken seriously.

WILVOS’ fauna returns span almost a decade and they show that the number of calls to our hotline are ever-increasing, partly due to people being aware that there are people at the ready to help distressed wildlife.

Often, these calls are for advice, and it is wonderful that people are interested enough to ring up with their questions about local wildlife.

The days of ‘it’s just nature’ are hopefully fading, as people realise that such incidents as domestic animal attacks and  vehicle accidents are not ‘nature’  – they are a result of human impact.

However, there has been an increase in calls for some species, and a decrease in calls for others.  These are indicative of the effects of population growth. And either way it’s not good news.

From the coastal and fast-developing areas, we are receiving more daily calls about possums having their habitat destroyed.
Of course, the brushtail species are going to seek refuge in ceilings – there is hardly a hollow or sheltered area to be found.  Our ringtail possums are grateful for the palm trees, usually not native, but providing a good base in which to build their dreys (nests).

Unfortunately, when the fronds fall down, or the tree is removed, these animals are again displaced – that’s if they survive crashing to the ground. Refugees in their own country!

But even more depressing is the lack of calls about the glider species. Ten years ago, we were being called often about squirrel gliders and sugar gliders, even though their numbers were diminishing.

Now there are so few calls about gliders, that it is a challenge getting  a colony together for release. These animals, as with ringtail possums, cannot be released singularly.

Luckily, WILVOS have the expertise of an ecologist to assess release sites and chose suitable sites for our rehabilitated animals, which are returned to the wild in a nestbox.

Putting them up a tree on a few hectares is not enough.  All sites are becoming overpopulated as animals compete for territories, with adequate food and shelter.

Another obvious victim of development is the macropod.  We now receive far fewer calls about kangaroos and wallabies than we did 10 years ago – a 25 per cent decrease in some areas.  Other areas are totally bereft of macropod populations.
A tragedy that could have been foreseen, but it was more important to put up houses on 450 to 650 square metre blocks of ex-forest and grassland.

Whie development will always continue in this beautiful area, there are some peoeple who have taken on the responsibility of  helping  the previous inhabitants.

What happened to the bandicoots, echidnas, reptiles and birds that were once so commonly seen around southeast Queensland?

Tawny frogmouth chicks sit in a fragile nest made of a few sticks.  If they fall to the ground, the parents will care for them – but they are at the mercy of feral animals.

Urgent calls made to find help for injured and orphaned birds are soaring.
In some cases, nestling birds can be re-installed in a man-made nest up a tree near the parent birds, then observed to see if they are again being fed.

However, this cannot be done when the parents have been mauled by a cat or dog. But why is it so difficult to keep domestic pets contained? People do not think twice about putting a bird in a little cage, but the same persons would not build an enclosure for their cat, with activities installed to entertain it while they are away all day. In the meantime cat can be left at home to roam freely and do its bit to decimate the dwindling bird, reptile and marsupial population.

I believe that people, domestic pets and wildlife can live together. But we are supposed to be the superior species, so it is up to us to at least ease the developmental impact on our precious Australian native wildlife.

Putting a stop to what seems to be inexorable urban growth into our precious bushland would be a start. For more information visit the WILVOS website.

A tiny Feathertail Glider emerges from its log home. Image: Donna Anthony

In recent months there has been a great increase in orphaned and injured animals being reported on the WILVOS hotline.  It always makes me so aware of the value of this 24 hour a day, 365 days a year rescue number for distressed wildlife.

It is always a challenge to find enough people to man the phone line at the end-of-year holiday period, but  somehow the amazing WILVO phone roster co-ordinators manage, even though, I think, they end up doing many extra hours themselves!  Fortunately the hotline operates on a diversion system where volunteers answer the phone from their own homes, so it is easy to do a quick switch through if an emergency crops up and the rostered volunteer can’t do the rostered time.

With their habitats disappearing fast, it is a serious competition for food and housing for many animals.  There has been a large number of ringtail possums found out in the open and being harassed by birds.  When this happens high up in a tree, it is a waiting game. Often the ringtail just hasn’t made it back to the drey by sunup and the birds are not going to miss out on the opportunity of annoying anything that is a stranger in their area. Usually the possum will move onto  some covering foliage, or else the birds will get tired of their games, and nightfall finds the possum in its familiar secure  territory of darkness.

There has also been an increase in the number of smaller marsupials coming into care.  Human impact, unfortunately, is nearly always the cause.  Domestic pets and destruction of habitat are the main problems.   I actually had four little feathertails weighing only four grams each, and another four little antechinus weighing a tiny three grams each — all in care at the same time.

I seemed to just finish one feed and it was time for the next.  I look at these small native animals and wonder how any of them ever survive out there.  Just facing their natural native predators would be enough of a worry.

The dry, hot month of November meant that many native animals came into care very dehydrated.  Once injured or orphaned, dehydration soon takes a hold.  WILVO carers are always taught the secret for success in rehabilitation is warmth, dark, quiet and fluids – in that order.

An amazing variety of wildlife workshops were held throughout the year and a big year is planned for 2010. WILVOs take a pride in the fact that they have wildlife presenters from all over Australia. There are always new ideas, and these need to be shared if we wildlife carers are going to expand our knowledge.

The latter part of 2009 also saw a number of tawny frogmouths come into our care.  The young walk a thin line as they progress into adolescence.  Their first flight attempts often find them on the ground and they are not quite able to fly up to a branch.  The parents are very industrious and continue to feed the young as they learn the finer points of feeding and flying. Optimistically, while on the ground, they don’t meet up with straying domestic pets, or venture onto busy roads.

Hopefully, everyone helped our Australian native wildlife with Christmas presents which would help our environment.  My grandchildren helped their other grandmother in constructing ringtail possum dreys, which were given out as presents.  These wonderful dreys were made from native foliage, all intertwined around a base of stems of bracken fern.

Gifts such as possum and bird nest boxes, or native fruiting and flowering plants are always welcomed by our wildlife and help them through the hard times. They need all the help they can get.

HOTLINE Number: 54416200

Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS)

PO Box 2555 Nambour West  Q  4560

We often don’t see what our cats are killing during the day, or night. Image: greghardwick.com.au

This glider was dead — killed by a cat.  She had two exquisite little joeys in her pouch.  Though they are viable to rear as furless little babies, these two barely weighed three grams, so it was not a pleasant outcome.

I was really upset, as I have watched the demise of this species on the Sunshine Coast.  Ten years ago, we would get calls at least each week about gliders.  Now they might be every few months.

Why?  Because cats are the main culprits. Through habitat destruction, the gliders are forced into suburban areas, although this is not a problem if pets are contained.

I still hear incredibly stupid people saying  to me: “My cat is a real killer!”.  It is as if they are proud of it, or can’t do anything about it.    What gives a cat the right to kill even one bird, or one glider?

Cat owners often say: “Our cat doesn’t get any wildlife.”

When in fact we often don’t see what our cats are killing during the day, or night.  They are very clever animals.  I’m sure my last cat (and it was definitely my last cat) knew what to bring home and display and what to leave out of sight.

Yes, a feral mouse or rat is fine, although I wasn’t even terribly happy about that. But then I found a native animal, a bandicoot, and that was the end of the story.

I knew this wasn’t an isolated incident.  Once I let my cat out in the morning, he was still finding wildlife, regardless of bells, buzzers and electronic masterpieces.

Why is it so difficult for people to lock up their cats?   We don’t think twice about putting a bird, even a parrot, into a small cage, yet we won’t even ponder making a cat run.

Cats are introduced high-end predators, so our native animals have to be protected from them.  It is not “Nature” when a cat kills one of our native wildlife.   Sure, it is natural when a native raptor or reptile takes one of our animals.  I would not be happy about it, but that is true nature.

I cannot repeat often enough — cats are not native to the Australian landscape, so it is not natural to have our precious wildlife killed by these introduced animals.  I love cats as I love all animals — well maybe not love them as much as my squirrel and sugar gliders, but I respect all life.

So therefore I would never let a cat free range — day or night!

Why would anyone want their pet to wander freely outside, at the mercy of cars or dog attack?  I would want my cat safely contained on my own property, preferably in a cat run with lots of toys and activities to entertain it.

Please, if you want to do anything to help our wildlife, remind your neighbours and friends as often as possible, about the importance of protecting our wildlife.

My grandchildren are so young yet they are so upset to hear of what their friends’ pets do to our wildlife. Our pets, both cats and dogs, are major contributors to the extinction of native species.

Please, I do care for all animals and have my own pets, but I want to see humans, pets and wildlife surviving together in suburbia.  It is the only way our native Australian wildlife can survive.

***

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Wallabies and other macropods face an uncertain future as habitat is cleared. Image greghardwick.com.au

I wish that we could blame the decline of our Australian native species on one major influence such as climate change, but unfortunately that is not the only problem facing our wildlife.

Human impact, in many forms, have been the direct culprit from the moment humans stepped onto this beautiful country.  As the population has increased over the years, so has the devastation and pollution.

Constantly we are bombarded with the fact that habitat destruction is leading to the depletion of wildlife numbers.  Well, it would be imagined that by this time we would have actually done something, instead of just talking.

While Queensland mumbled on about changing legislation regarding clearing practices some years ago, property owners cleared their land ‘just in case’.

On a recent visit to North Queensland, I remembered the impact this proposed legislation had on the tree kangaroo populations up in the Tableland areas.

Wildlife carers see few of these unique animals now.  They became victims of cars and domestic pets as their habitat was cleared at an incredible pace for no purpose other than ‘we might need it cleared sometime in the future’.

Plastic rings at the top of these bottles are often found around birds’ necks.

In our south-eastern area of Queensland we saw the closing of the sugar mill in Nambour, which led to the demise of the cane-growing industry. The Government excelled itself by subsidising fencing so that cattle could be run on this land.

What a pity they didn’t have the sense to stipulate the type of fencing.  Once again, wildlife were given no consideration.  While many property owners are replacing their barbed wire with wildlife friendly fencing, others have been subsidised to install fencing which causes the  slow agonising death of gliders, birds, bats and macropods.

In our normal day-to-day existence, household rubbish holds many items detrimental to our wildlife. Plastic bags are not the only culprit.  Though everyone tries to recycle their plastic bottles, many are unaware of the dangers even when these bottles are properly recycled.  I have seen horrific images of what happens when the plastic rings at the top of these bottles are found around birds’ necks or turtles shells.  As the animal grows these rings do not disintegrate or break.

Hopefully, one day we will see these manufactured so that the rings break when the bottles are opened.  Until then, it is up to us to cut these plastic rings to prevent injuries to our animals.

Last but not least, the safety of all our Australian native wildlife depends on domestic animals being controlled. Another hope for the future is that laws on domestic pets will be updated and enforced.

The future of our wildlife depends on us as responsible human beings.

Michelle Gleeson

Do bugs bug you? Do weeds drive you mad? Do you have a weed you want identified? Maybe you would like to know some of the uses for our local plants?

For all the answers, a series of Practical Ecology workshops at the free World Environment Day Festival on June 28th may be just the thing for you and your family to explore the natural world together.

To be held at the University of the Sunshine Coast, the hands-on series is part of the huge festival program featuring land and water bugs, land and water weeds, Glossy Black Cockatoos and advice on native plants, all presented by local experts.

Among the topics, fire, ecology and human habitats, with Michael Reif from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council talking about fire and biodiversity and Lloyd Johnston from Emergency Management Queensland will discuss minimising the risk of fire on our human habitats.

Michelle Gleeson, also known as the Bug Lady, will show off her displays of mounted insects, live insects which can be handled, and activity bags for the bug enthusiasts. With Cerran Fawns of Maroochy Waterwatch you can explore the bugs in our waterways and find out what they can tell you about the water quality.

Hellen Haapakoski of Biosecurity Queensland will help identify the weeds that pose the greatest threats to our natural systems and to farmers, and how you can best manage them. From Noosa and District Landcare, Phil Moran’s passion is water weeds and you can bring along some weeds you want identified.

Simone O’Keefe from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council is part of the Glossy Black Cockatoo Conservancy. She has been working with schools and community to help save this magnificent bird by spotting it and planting the specific food trees.

Coast legend Stephanie Haslam will present a fascinating workshop Not Just a Pretty Face – our native plants and their many uses. This is all about our reasonably common native plants that most people would know, and how these plants have been and are being used by aboriginal people, early settlers and commercial enterprises today.

The World Environment Day Festival at the University will also feature displays from all the groups on the Sunshine Coast that care for land, water and native species. This is a great chance to make contacts and find out more about this amazing coastal landscape and its active community.

Majestic pelicans

As a wildlife carer I am always saddened by anything that negatively affects a country’s native animal population.  Unfortunately, it’s usually our species that is the crux of the problem.

I was recently appalled when watching a television program on the Galapagos Islands.  To see the amount of waste created by the increased visitors to the island was alarming, to say the least.  The resident population of the islands has almost doubled from 18,000 in 2004, as tourism creates new employment and business opportunities.

Often referred to as the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, this paradise is just over a thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, and is now a major tourist attraction.  It is bad enough that introduced species, both plant and animal, lead to habitat destruction and new diseases, but on top of that is the dilemma of mountains of garbage.

All that garbage and where to put it?  The animals will suffer, as if they haven’t endured enough with the increase in human visitors.  Earlier this year over fifty sea lions were battered to death. Legislation in Ecuador now allows seasonal harvesting of sea cucumbers, and illegal fishing, especially for shark fin, is rife.

Many of the animals in this once pristine environment are so trusting and haven’t learnt to fear humans.  The Islands are of course renowned for six species of giant tortoises.  Who could forget beautiful “Harriet” at Australia Zoo?

Here on the Sunshine Coast the WILVOS have seen the death of turtles, platypus and numerous other wildlife, following ingestion of garbage.  The culprit is predominantly plastic bags, from small bait bags in the case of the platypus to larger bags in all sizes and colours. Marine turtles are often observed as ‘floaters’ after swallowing plastic bags – they cannot dive for their food and die unless rescued.

Constantly, seabirds are being entangled in fishing line or have fishing hooks imbedded in their flesh (these hooks do not rust away in a few days).  However, fishing line affects not only seabirds.  We have seen carelessly discarded fishing line in nests of birds such as magpies.  They don’t see the danger in using it as nest-building material, but the young chicks often become entangled and consequently die.

The WILVOS recently held a workshop with Marny Bonner, from Ballina’s Australian Seabird Rescue, made us even more aware of the plight of the pelicans on the Sunshine Coast. Where discarded fishing line often ends up on the water’s edge and affects the waders, pelicans become victims at the heart of the fishing sites. If they swallow a hooked fish or a baited hook, the line is often just cut, and the poor pelican is forgotten.  We saw some very disturbing photos, even lines with two hooks attached, where one hook was in the pelican’s beak and the other in its leg.  The excruciating agony that animals have to go through because of our waste!

Marny also demonstrated the simplicity of dealing with pelicans.  Although they are one of the larger bird species, they cannot seriously harm us.  It is just a matter of catching the pelican (believe it or not, simple effective methods were shown – its’ not rocket science) and removing the hook or line immediately.

Because these entanglements and hook injuries happen so often, Marny impressed on everyone that the answer to the problem is having regular pro-active patrols.  After removing the hook and if no infection is evident the pelican can then be released. The birds quickly recover and very few pelicans need rehabilitation. Better for them, better for us! We can all do our bit towards waste management and make a difference.

Phrederick Phascogale (Image: Donna Anthony)

PHREDERICK, the brush-tailed phascogale, was a sad sight when Wilvos worker Sylvia Whiting first saw him. His head was bloodied and he had been lying on the road for some time, a probable hit and run victim. While this usually feisty little creature had miraculously survived, his future at that point was not looking promising.

But several weeks later, after many trips to the Woombye vet surgery for antibiotics and fluids, and much love and care lavished on him by the Pettet family from Nambour, he was healthy and strong enough to release back into the wild.

Phrederick, as we named him, is a Phascogale tapoatafa pirata, a sub-species that is found only in Queensland, according to the CSIRO. Differences in size, colour, fur length and number of teeth have been noted. I have never seen one in the wild, let alone handled one of these amazing little nocturnal mammals.

With a body length of about 15 cm and a unique brush tail which was a little shorter than his body, Phrederick was a give-away for identification when Wilvos received the call on their 5441 6200 hotline.

Brush-tailed phascogales often live in hollow trees near the roadside, which is probably why this young carnivorous marsupial was found in the middle of the road. Having multiple sites within home range, the phascogale does need to be protected from roadside clearing of trees which is often done without prior expert environmental assessment.

After the first week in care, frail Phrederick started to look at crickets and other potential food with renewed interest. Soon he was tearing into (dead) pinkie mice with the tenacity of a hungry lion while the Pettett family, who took on his long-term care, just about needed a bank loan to feed him.

Phascogales have a unique quality in that the number of teats in the species varies from one to eight across the different regions of Australia. Drought times and climate change have a major influence on these dasyurids. Often only four young are produced in drought time, whereas up to 13 young can be born in good seasons. A lactation period of up to five months seems an unusually long time for an animal which has such a short sweet life.

For Phrederick and the Wilvos it was a meeting of mutual benefit, with the young phascogale getting a new chance in life while the human carers were provided with a learning experience and the opportunity to glean and record new knowledge of these Australian native animals.

When frightened, Phrederick was seen to flatten himself against a branch, a good camouflage in his usually arboreal environment. Occasionally, if one listened closely, a most exquisite purring sound could be heard. He showed a distinct interest in little gliders when he saw them. Definitely not a species to house close by.

Releasing this strong, healthy young fellow back to his home site was a bitter sweet experience. This time of year sees the brush-tailed phascogale males tearing around their area competing for female attention. They have to be fit, as after all this high activity the actual copulation can last for several hours, with the female reportedly dozing off occasionally.

After this intense breeding season, the males die off. Even the females are lucky to live through to a second season. Combined with times of drought and habitat destruction the brush-tailed phascogale is going to find it difficult not to be added to Australia’s future list of extinct mammals.

Wildlife Volunteers Association Inc.
(WILVOS). Phone (07) 5441 6200; PO Box
2555, Nambour West, Queensland 4560.