New Document on exotics in Australia

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Hix

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Released last month, this is a report on incursions of exotic animals in Australia, detection and prevention. It is about smuggled animals and those that have been released and found in the wild. It has few references to zoos, mainly in regard to animals stolen from zoos.

An interesting read, especially if you are interested in invasive and pest species.

http://www.feral.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Incursions_2011.pdf

:p

Hix
 
Fascinating article. Worth the read.

I am not sure if I misunderstood the terminology, but I assume that "Exotic species detected at large" refer to those found IN THE WILD?

So they found a pygmy hippo in NT, a bearcat in VIC, a blue and gold macaw in SA, and a Mississippi alligator in NSW? Surely that's not what the article is suggesting?

My wife always says that we will live to see the day when they find crocs living in the Yarra River in Victoria. She may win that bet after all.....
 
Well I think that they may be referring to escapees from zoos, parks etc. The blue and gold macaw found in SA I would say is the Adelaide Zoo's bird which escaped but was caught and taken pack to the zoo. Plus I think the pygmy hippo escaped from a ranch or such many years ago if I am not mistaken, remembering from an earlier article.
 
Electus Parrot said:
Well I think that they may be referring to escapees from zoos, parks etc. The blue and gold macaw found in SA I would say is the Adelaide Zoo's bird which escaped but was caught and taken pack to the zoo. Plus I think the pygmy hippo escaped from a ranch or such many years ago if I am not mistaken, remembering from an earlier article.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember the macaw escaping. I just googled the hippo story, and it is indeed true. Escaped from a wildlife park, roamed for 6 years, and was shot by pig hunters who mistook it for a pig. Fascinating.

Table 1 in the article is a very interesting read.
 
If it's the event I think it is, the alligator was a hatchling. Cops busted a house looking for drugs and found some exotic reptiles (snakes) and the gator which they believed had been smuggled in.

No idea about about the Binturong, but a zoo escape is likely.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
If it's the event I think it is, the alligator was a hatchling. Cops busted a house looking for drugs and found some exotic reptiles (snakes) and the gator which they believed had been smuggled in.

No idea about about the Binturong, but a zoo escape is likely.

:p

Hix
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The binty escaped from Melbourne Zoo and was recovered the same day after the zoo got a call from a rather frantic nearby resident complaining that a "bear/cat thing" (how right she was!) was asleep in a tree in her garden.

What about the red panda?
 
CGSwans said:
What about the red panda?
Click to expand...

Most likely the same thing with Taronga. One of the pandas was named Mee Sing (Missing) because she was adept at getting out of her exhibit (although that was in the 90's, I don't know if she's been out in the last decade). Then again - there are other facilities in NSW with Red Pandas.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
If it's the event I think it is, the alligator was a hatchling. Cops busted a house looking for drugs and found some exotic reptiles (snakes) and the gator which they believed had been smuggled in.

No idea about about the Binturong, but a zoo escape is likely.

:p

Hix
Click to expand...

I found a few articles online about this incident regarding the alligator: Rogue alligator found on South Coast - Local News - News - General - Illawarra Mercury

So, we have solved a few of the 'at large mammals' mysteries.

Those remaining are:

- red panda (NSW)
- Matschie’s tree kangaroo (SA)
- five-striped palm squirrel (WA)
- rhesus, Japanese macaque (VIC, QLD)
- cotton top tamarin (NSW)

The 4 boa constrictors in VIC are also interesting....
 
nanoboy said:
So, we have solved a few of the 'at large mammals' mysteries.

Those remaining are:

- red panda (NSW)
- Matschie’s tree kangaroo (SA)
- five-striped palm squirrel (WA)
- rhesus, Japanese macaque (VIC, QLD)
- cotton top tamarin (NSW)
Click to expand...

Aren't the five-striped palm squirrels in Western Australia from the Perth Zoo that were free-ranging?
 
I think the writer has jumped to some conclusions and ignored other animals. Fallow Deer, Red deer and Blackbuck antelope are listed as extreme pest threats, while Sambar are not mentioned. All those species have existed in the wild in Australia for in some cases well over 100 years, and Blackbuck have been eradicated, and the others are controlable and only survive because they are managed game animals with a value and regulations to prevent them being wiped out. Blackbuck should have been managed sustainably as well.
Sambar on the other hand are not controlable due to their secretive nature and prefered habitat which is forested and mountains. There are believed to be over 250,000 in the great dividing range and are past Canberra now and rapidly heading north.
Another one is ferrets which have been escaping for over 100 years while rabbiting and not managed to establish sustainable wild populations.

I believe the writer and the invasive animals CRC has an agenda and ignored some species while including others on purpose, while exaggeration their pest threat. Spending more time trying to find more pests does nothing to reduce the current pest problems we have.

I am not saying though that reptiles such as Corn Snakes do not pose a serious threat, although the CRC themselves by including animals which do not pose a threat and have been here for over 100 years, reduce the emphasis on those threatening animals and damge their own credibility.
 
Monty said:
I think the writer has jumped to some conclusions and ignored other animals. Fallow Deer, Red deer and Blackbuck antelope are listed as extreme pest threats, while Sambar are not mentioned. All those species have existed in the wild in Australia for in some cases well over 100 years, and Blackbuck have been eradicated, and the others are controlable and only survive because they are managed game animals with a value and regulations to prevent them being wiped out.
Click to expand...

Did you read the article, or just look at the tables? Section 2 answers the conclusion you jumped to in your first statement above, and also explains the risk assessment ranking.

:p

Hix
 
Some thoughts:
The risk assessment rankings appear to be confusing. Some species that one would feel to have a very high level of pest potential are ranked lower than others. Burmese pythons are ranked lower than puff adders?

It would be interesting to know the fate of some of these species. Many could easily be assimilated into the general Australian zoo collection (as most appear to be reptiles). I'm sure a number already are, but which one?

How is a zoo's involvement determined or an individual's fate decided upon? -(rarity, a particular zoo's whim, overzealous customs). I am aware that several lorises have been found smuggled that are then kept by larger zoos, but I cannot imagine a single macaque being kept.
 
There are free-ranging palm squirrels at Perth Zoo and surrounding areas, and I think they are quite common there. The Matschie's Tree Kangaroo must have escaped from its enclosure at Adelaide Zoo as they have the only ones in Australia.
 
the palm squirrels in Perth are indeed an established wild population and have been since being released from the Perth Zoo in 1898. The kookaburras in WA are also all descended from birds released by the zoo in that same year (they are now much more widespread than the palm squirrels!). The rainbow lorikeets prevalent around Perth, and potentially a threat to the native purple-crowned lorikeet, were released by the University of Western Australia (so I was told) in the 1960s.
 
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