Friday, May 26, 2017

Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat

My next adventure took me up north to Port Douglas to the Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat. Here I had a private tour with one of the keepers there who informed me all about the wildlife they have there and environmental policies set in place to protect them.

In Australia there are state laws as well as federal laws to help protect the wildlife and environment. The state laws differ from state to state, but everyone has to follow the federal laws as they can be shut down if they do not. Wildlife habitats and zoos have to have permission and permits to transfer between states, but transferring within the state is allowed. There are also specific animal welfare, health, and exhibition rules they must follow. The rules differ from animal to animal.

First animal I learned about is the Gouldian Finch. This bird is endemic (native) to Australia and endangered. There are only about 2,500 left. Their primary threat is the constant hot dry weather that leads to wildfires and destroys their habitat.
Gouldian Finch
The next endangered animal I learned about is a small marsupial the Northern Bettong. It is now restricted to Queensland, Australia. The Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat has a breeding program for this species. This means that scientists look at the genetics of the captive ones and they can determine the best combinations of mates to breed with. This animal plays an important role in the health of its complex forest community (they disperse many seeds).
Northern Bettong
Next is the Mahogany Glider. It is an endangered gliding possum native to a small region of coastal Queensland, Australia. It resembles the sugar glider but is noticeably larger and has a longer tail.
Mahogany Glider
The Black Necked Stork is a popular animal at this habitat. It is not endangered. What makes the Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat unique regarding this species, is that it is the only breeding site in the world. You can tell the females and males apart as the males have black eyes and females have yellow ones. These storks have no voice box, so they communicate by flapping their wings and clicking their beaks.
Black Necked Stork
Another unique animal the habitat has is the Spectacled Flying Fox. The largest population of this species is in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Spectacled Fruit Bat. They are considered a threatened species due to their habitat being destroyed by humans looking to build homes.
Spectacled Flying Fox
The next is probably one of the most well known Australian wildlife; The Koala! The Koalas here in northern Australia are smaller, with lighter colored fur, and have a thinner coat. This is all due to the temperatures being hotter up here. Their habitat includes the eucalyptus woodlands. These areas are being destroyed by housing construction, so now they have the have the opposite problem as most of the wildlife previously mentioned, they are becoming overcrowded! They all have to fit into whatever eucalyptus woodlands that are left and this increases the spreading of diseases which is not good. People in Queensland can help stop this by not building their houses in their land, and by not letting their dogs and cats out at night as they prey on koalas.
Koala
In some places in Australia, the Red Tailed Cockatoo is endangered. This species is also native to Australia.
Red Tailed Cockatoo
Another endemic species to Australia is Boyd's Forest Dragon. They are a rainforest species that can avoid prey by matching their body temperature to whatever they are sitting on. This lizard is mainly found in the Wet Tropics region of Queensland, Australia. Australia has two rainforest dragons, and Boyd's is the larger of the two. It's tail is twice the length of it's body!
Boyd's Forest Dragon
Up next is another iconic animal for Australia; the Cassowaries! They are endangered due to habitat destruction by houses and farms, pigs and dogs hunting them, and getting hit by cars. They are known as a keystone species, meaning that if they went extinct there would be huge repercussions as they are vital since they disperse seeds.
Cassowary
The Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat has a few White Lipped Green Tree Frogs which are popular in Australia. There is another species called the Cane Toad which competes with the tree frogs. The Cane Toads were brought to the US in order to eat the Cane Beetles off the crops, however, they did not do a good job as the beetles would just go to the top of the crop where it is too high for the frogs to be able to jump. The green tree frog tries to eat the cane toads, but the cane toads have poisonous glands on them which lead to the green tree frog's death.
White Lipped Green Tree Frog
Cane Toad
Another endemic Australian animal is the Lesser Sooty. This species is not endangered but a cool fact about them is they let out a screech that sounds like a bomb dropping from the sky.
Lesser Sooty
The Northern Nailtail Wallaby is another well known Australian mammal. They are not endangered but they sure are adorable! They are found in the woodlands and grasslands of tropical north Australia.
Northern Nailtail Wallaby
Me feeding two of the Northern Nailtail Wallabies at the Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat
An up close of the wallaby I was feeling; he was clutching my hand so tight!
Up next are the Saltwater Crocodiles. They have been around for over 250 million years! They used to be close to extinction, but have made a roaring comeback. They are a very hot topic right now because of how aggressive they can be in certain situations. Everyone thinks they are killing machines; that is true to a degree. If you nag them on then yes they will do something, however, usually if you leave them alone they won't bother with you. Contrary to popular belief, in northern Australia there is only around 1 death every 3 years. The Australian government targets problem crocodiles and relocates them if needed. The problem with this is that these reptiles are very territorial and can often travel back to their original location. An interesting fact is that in the northern Australian territories you can actually obtain a permit and go out and remove eggs from the wild.
Saltwater Crocodile
Now for the most popular Australian mammal... the Kangaroo! These marsupials are so overpopulated that it is legal to hunt them (sadly). Apparently their meat tastes pretty good. Kangaroos can do something called embryonic diapause. This means that they can literally pause the embryonic development and get pregnant again. They can have up to three embryos at a time!
Kangaroo
The Kangaroos at this Wildlife Habitat love getting their necks scratched!
It's not everyday you get to take a picture with a Kangaroo!
A relative to the Kangaroo is the Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo. They are not endangered. Something unique about this species is that they are neither nocturnal nor diurnal, they are cathemeral, meaning they are active whenever they want to be. Three-Kangaroos differ from normal Kangaroos in many ways. They have longer tails which they use for balance, short wide feet, cushioned non-slip soles to provide a more secure foothold when climbing, specially adapted ankle joint that allows greater rotation of the foot, legs that can move independently- can walk and hop- unlike ground dwelling kangaroos, strong shoulders and forearms for climbing, and small rounded ears that make pushing through leaves and branches easier. Indigenous people call these kangaroos "Boundary", "Mabi" or "Muppie".
Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo
Lastly is the Spotted-tailed Quoll. They are the largest carnivorous marsupials on mainland Australia. They are a relative of the Tasmanian Devil. This species, just like the White Lipped Green Tree Frog, is hugely effected by the introduction of the poisonous cane toad. This marsupial lives in wet and dry eucalyptus forest, woodland and heathland. They are engendered expect in Tasmania where they are vulnerable. Some of the reasons for their endangered status is habitat loss, competition and predation by introduced carnivores (cats), road mortality, poisoning by cane toads, and climate change. They only occur in six small disjunct populations in tropical North Queensland.
Spotted-tailed Quoll
The wildlife across all of Australia differs between regions with some overlap. These are only some of the wildlife that exists in this magnificent country. Some things we can do to help protect these creatures is stop building homes in the forest areas that are home to many endangered species. We can also not let out our cats and dogs at night as they tend to prey on certain wildlife. One of the biggest things we can do is stay informed about the endangered species in our area. We can make our homes wildlife friendly by securing garbage in cans with lockable lids to avoid wildlife getting into it. We should also limit our use of herbicides and pesticides because yes they may make our yard look beautiful, but they are hazardous pollutants that effect wildlife at many levels. We can also recycle certain objects and never buy products made from endangered species. And lastly, be careful when driving where endangered species were displaced from the now developed areas.

This wraps up my wildlife experiences in Cairns, Australia. Pretty soon I will be heading down to Rainbow Beach, Australia- a 26 hour bus ride!! Wish me luck!


1 comment: