Wildlife and Cats

Don't get me wrong, I like cats.
I think they are graceful enchanting creatures, it's the bloody irresponsible owners that are the problem. When someone acquires a dog, they keep them in a fenced yard. A budgie or a guinea pig is kept safe in a cage. Why is it then, that a vast majority of cat owners think that it is ok for their moggie to roam at will? Apart from the danger to their cat from, roads, snakes and here in Queensland the deadly paralysis tick, these un-confined cats kill and maim thousands of native wildlife every year.
Case in point.
A juvenile Northern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) arrived this morning after being found huddled in a carport.
Examination revealed 5 large lacerations and area of torn skin the result of being attacked at night by someones loose cat.



Here he is sleeping off the sedation with his wounds dressed.
Off to the vet tomorrow for antibiotics. Lots of TLC and with luck this little one can go back to his wild life.

As for the owner of said cat . . . . .is it uncharitable to wish him or her, bad karma?

I Love Animals She Said......

Then why have I been called back to this woman's house for the same reason?

The PanelLift garage door installed at her house has a raising mechanism in the form of a fine steel cable rotating around a drum. The rear of her garage is not sealed and so Common Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) use the garage as a daytime sleeping area. The ideal place to sleep is on top of the brick pillars adjacent to the lifting mechanism.
On August 29 2004 I was called to extract a female possum and her joey from the mechanism.
The result was a crushed hind leg on the female and the amputation of the tip of the tail on the baby.
Mum was euthanased and the joey raised, and being able to cope with the loss of the tail tip, was ultimately released.
At the time the resident of the house agreed to have her son (the landlord) install some simple lengths of timber to exclude the possums from the garage so this would not happen again. I love animals, she said.

Obviously her love was short term as no exluding had been undertaken and this time a small just out of pouch joey had both back legs crushed by the mechanism.

If you love animals lady ..... PROVE IT!

Kingfisher King

This season we have had 35 kingfisher chicks come in to care - all of them due to total clear felling slash-and-burn of everything for another housing development.
And just to rub salt into the wound, the developer makes $$$$. The plant operator makes $$$ clearing, the wildlife spotter/catcher gets paid and the wildlife rehabilitator who gets the results of the development gets??????....... that's right not a red cent, not a brass razoo, no support whatever!
So why do it? - because doing nothing is not an option.

So meet some of the guests

And some more. . .



They are Sacred Kingfishers, (Todiramphus sancta) spikey feathers with spikey personalities to match. Favourite ocupation eating, oh and squabling.
All have recently been released back to the wild.

What Christmas Bird is That?

"I have found this waterbird" the lady on the other end of the phone, says, "I'm not really sure what it is, although I'm pretty good at identifying birds, but I've never seen one like this before."
A few questions and we establish that it is white, has yellow legs and a 'fairly long' yellow beak. (I'm thinking cattle egret)
On arrival we open the box and lo-and-behold it's a
white leghorn chicken complete with wattle and comb!