Seeing a lot of wildlife lately...drought is in full swing.
Fair few Roos out the front of the house, and getting more adventurous.
A few weeks ago, could hear the bashing and crashing around the creek across the road, go out to look (not a domestic next door), and see the outlines of a mob of roos over the road and in the floodplane.
Little later, and notices roo poo in the front yard, and could catch sight of them during the day.
Subsequently have seen poo in the back yard, and last night the orange cat was going berserk at the back window, so I'm thinking it's like an old Looney Tunes Cartoon
Went out to investigate, and that's all I can put it down to.
Dead roos and Wombats line the route to work (literally 20+ in the 15 ish miles on my commute)...they are grazing the "long paddock" for food, and getting hit...know three people this month who have tagged one to a greater or lesser degree.
The Wildlife rescue people are spraying the roadkill with spray paint now, where they used to tie a ribbon on a leg...a spray painted roo/wombat means that someone has checked it's pouch for a baby.
Roos are quite adapted to drought. They can have a Joey in the pouch, and still be holding a fertilised egg in "stasis" ready to deliver when the conditions are right...don't need a male around when the grass comes.
Lady at work came across a hit mother and a lonely, hurt a little Joey the other day, and was nursing it in the office awaiting the Wildlife rescue people.
The Roos really are hurting...they are everywhere there is green (i.e. concentrating around people and gardens), and while they appear fearless, they are probably more resigned to just getting food.
Took this the other day from around 10 feet if that...
Tonight driving home, a driver on the other side flashed me a few times to slow down...I did, and saw what looked like a tyre "gator" weaving across the road...an Echindna.
Don't see them very often...slowed, avoided it, flipped a Uie, and went in for the pics.
Wasn't overly happy, so curled up.
I think it was just wandering. July and August are breeding season, so that's probably the reason. They eat termites and the like, so shouldn't be affected heavily by the greeness of the vegetation...they have powerful claws to shred rotting timber to get the insects.
Now as to puggle...and the spray painted roos.
Echidnas (and platypus) are monotremes. They are the only egg laying mammals. (Darwin met his first platypus less then 5 miles from that pic, as the Currawong flies).
And echidnas have pouches (actually they "grow" a pouch in breeding season), in which the egg lays for about a week and a half, and the baby lives after the egg has hatched...the baby is called a "puggle", and echidnas, due to their spot in the evolutionary timeline haven't any nipples. They exude milk through their skin, and the puggle licks it off...after it leaves the pouch and starts eating ants, it still comes back for milk.
I've seen maybe a dozen Echidnas outside of zoos (probably that many INSIDE zoos too)
Fair few Roos out the front of the house, and getting more adventurous.
A few weeks ago, could hear the bashing and crashing around the creek across the road, go out to look (not a domestic next door), and see the outlines of a mob of roos over the road and in the floodplane.
Little later, and notices roo poo in the front yard, and could catch sight of them during the day.
Subsequently have seen poo in the back yard, and last night the orange cat was going berserk at the back window, so I'm thinking it's like an old Looney Tunes Cartoon
Went out to investigate, and that's all I can put it down to.
Dead roos and Wombats line the route to work (literally 20+ in the 15 ish miles on my commute)...they are grazing the "long paddock" for food, and getting hit...know three people this month who have tagged one to a greater or lesser degree.
The Wildlife rescue people are spraying the roadkill with spray paint now, where they used to tie a ribbon on a leg...a spray painted roo/wombat means that someone has checked it's pouch for a baby.
Roos are quite adapted to drought. They can have a Joey in the pouch, and still be holding a fertilised egg in "stasis" ready to deliver when the conditions are right...don't need a male around when the grass comes.
Lady at work came across a hit mother and a lonely, hurt a little Joey the other day, and was nursing it in the office awaiting the Wildlife rescue people.
The Roos really are hurting...they are everywhere there is green (i.e. concentrating around people and gardens), and while they appear fearless, they are probably more resigned to just getting food.
Took this the other day from around 10 feet if that...
Tonight driving home, a driver on the other side flashed me a few times to slow down...I did, and saw what looked like a tyre "gator" weaving across the road...an Echindna.
Don't see them very often...slowed, avoided it, flipped a Uie, and went in for the pics.
Wasn't overly happy, so curled up.
I think it was just wandering. July and August are breeding season, so that's probably the reason. They eat termites and the like, so shouldn't be affected heavily by the greeness of the vegetation...they have powerful claws to shred rotting timber to get the insects.
Now as to puggle...and the spray painted roos.
Echidnas (and platypus) are monotremes. They are the only egg laying mammals. (Darwin met his first platypus less then 5 miles from that pic, as the Currawong flies).
And echidnas have pouches (actually they "grow" a pouch in breeding season), in which the egg lays for about a week and a half, and the baby lives after the egg has hatched...the baby is called a "puggle", and echidnas, due to their spot in the evolutionary timeline haven't any nipples. They exude milk through their skin, and the puggle licks it off...after it leaves the pouch and starts eating ants, it still comes back for milk.
I've seen maybe a dozen Echidnas outside of zoos (probably that many INSIDE zoos too)
