The call for peers is now open for the wildlife tourism workshop: to be held in Darwin in early October 2013 “Snake as sister, spectacle or scientific object: connecting the dots for wildlife tourism”
To submit an abstract please visit:
http://wildlifetourism.org.au/blog/workshop-2013/call-for-papers/
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Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, which has had more success than any other venue in breeding platypus in captivity, are now offering the world’s first public opportunity to interact with these amazing little animals
The platypus involved doesn’t seem at all stressed by interactions with humans, and this will be supervised carefully by very responsible staff members at a Sanctuary with a great reputation.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-09/up-close-and-personal-with-platypus/4458656
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Categories: interacting with wildlife, News
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Goodfellow, DL and M Stott (2012). Birds of Palmerston in Australia’s Top End. Scrubfowl Publ. Darwin, NT.
Goodfellow, DL and M Stott (2012). Birds of Palmerston in Australia’s Top End. Scrubfowl Publ. Darwin, NT.
Denise Goodfellow has been described as a Northern Territory treasure. She has worked as a biological consultant, conducted countless bird guiding tours for domestic as well as overseas tourists and has an incredible knowledge of the fauna and flora we all enjoy in this very special part of the world.
Many years ago Denise was adopted into an Aboriginal family. She has worked tirelessly to assist her extended aboriginal family to overcome the barriers so many of them faced dealing with the bureaucracy and requirements of another culture. Well before it became fashionable to raise cross cultural awareness Denise was quietly doing what she could to assist with cross-cultural issues in a very practical way.
Denise has been much sought after as a speaker and lecturer in other parts of Australia and overseas including the United States of America and Asia.
She is able to mix her scientific knowledge with entertaining stories of her own experiences with Aboriginal people and as an ornithologist and nature lover.
– taken from the book “Birds of Palmerston”
She is passionate about the environment in which she lives and is a great advocate for retaining our native heritage and preserving the best but often fragile aspects of the natural world.
Denise is the author of a number of books including her own autobiography and books such as ‘Common Birds of the Darwin Area” and ‘Birds of Australia’s Top End”. With the assistance of her partner Michael Stott, Denise now brings us ‘Birds of Palmerston”.
Palmerston began as a satellite town of the City of Darwin. It has grown into a city in its own right with a rapidly expanding population. This means, new suburbs, clearing and building. However it is still filled with a stunning variety of birds that bring a great deal of joy to an increasing number of residents.
‘Birds of Palmerston” can be used as a reference book or just an enjoyable read. The detail and descriptions are easy to follow, interspersed with fascinating little anecdotes and words of advice and filled with exquisite illustrations.
It is a book that you may want to read sitting in your garden or refer to as you walk through the parks and byways of Palmerston. It is a book that will bring joy to bird lovers the world over including those fortunate enough to live in Palmerston.
To order a copy contact Denise Goodfellow
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Categories: Birdwatching tourism, Members' stories, News
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Natural Area Tourism second edition just released
The newly released second edition of the book Natural Area Tourism written by David Newsome, Susan A Moore, and Ross K. Dowling, details the possibilities of setting up successful tourism developments in natural areas and now contains an overview of recent developments, such as mountain biking, adventure activities in protected areas and geotourism.
You’ll find new content and examples from the Asian region on managing the tourism industry and management effectiveness. The book also considers important new developments in monitoring, such as remote sensing and the use of GIS, as well as the use of electronic educational resources in delivering interpretation.
Attention is given to the implications of climate change, inadequate protected area security and the ever-increasing influence of the landscape matrix.
The second edition also includes a comprehensive review of the new literature that has emerged since the publication of the first edition more than a decade ago. Accordingly, this book will remain an invaluable resource of natural area tourism for many years to come.
The book is a critical resource for all those working in the interrelated disciplines of protected area management, sustainable tourism, geography and conservation biology.
It is beautifully written in a clear and comprehensive style allowing readers to engage with all the challenges and intricacies of natural area tourism. This book is one of the few that goes beyond paying lip-service to the environmental impacts of tourism.
You can order either a paperback or hard cover now from Boomerang Books
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Hon Jon Castrilli presents Kev Mahney with award
Mandurah Cruises was presented as a nominee in the prestigious LandCorp Sustainability Award at the 2012 Regional Achievement and Community Awards in Perth held on 16th November 2012.
These awards are about recognising rural and regional individuals and groups in their community.
Hon John Castrilli MLA, presented Kev Manhey with the award in front of 420 guests from across the state.
Mandurah Cruises is the first company in Australia with EcoPlus Accreditation, as they have their own environmental policy, implementing recycling bins in the office and on their vessels. They also have a focus to reduce fuel and power usage and have banned chemicals and use china cups instead of paper cups. And they also sponsor a marine biology student who is writing a thesis on cetaceans.
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A post by guest blogger Dave Gregory
Australia has one of the biggest and most diverse ranges of animals in the world. Due to the sheer size and the fact that Australia has been isolated from all other landmasses for over 100million years, 85 per cent of plants, 84 per cent of mammals and 45 per cent of birds are endemic. The wildlife attracts thousands of visitors to Australia every year but there’s a lot of Australians who haven’t experienced everything the country has to offer too. In some cases, the animals are hard to find, so here is a list of some of Australia’s most unique animals and where you can find them.
Platypus
When the first settlers in Australia encountered the platypus and described it to zoologists and naturalists back in Europe, they thought it was an elaborate hoax. Even when an example was brought back, it still raised suspicion. There’s no doubt that the platypus is one of the strangest animals in the world. Platypus’ can be found all along the east coast of Australia from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Tasmania in the south. It lives in streams and small rivers, often fairly close to human settlements. They’re incredibly distinctive animals with their duck-bill and flat tail and an adult male will grow to be about 50cm. The platypus is one of five members of the monotreme family (mammals that lay eggs) and without doubt the most well-known (the others are all echidna species, confined to Australia and New Guinea, while the platypus is only in Australia). In biological terms, the monotremes are some of the oldest mammals. Another aspect of the platypus that sets it apart from almost all other mammals is the fact that it produces venom via a barb on its back foot. The venom, although not powerful enough to kill a human, does cause extreme pain.
Kangaroo
It was out of the question to leave the kangaroo off the list, even though the majority of Australians will probably have seen them before. The national symbol of Australia, the various different species are found over most of the country and are quite easy to see, especially if you’re driving through more remote areas. Kangaroo meat was traditionally very important to the Aboriginal people of Australia and is becoming more popular around the world, especially in restaurants and steak houses in Europe and the North America.
Emus
Related to Africa’s ostrich, the emu is one of the world’s largest birds, and like the ostrich, they are flightless. A fully grown adult will stand at about two metres tall and because of their powerful legs, they can run very fast and for a very long time. It’s not uncommon for them to travel long distances and go for weeks between finding food. Emus can be found across most of mainland Australia but tend to avoid built up areas. If you’re going on a trip specifically to see wildlife then there’s a good chance to see kangaroos and emus in similar places.
Freshwater Crocodile
The freshwater crocodile is the smaller cousin of the famous (and more dangerous) saltwater crocodile and are generally not considered dangerous to humans-not that you should get too close to them! These crocodiles can only be found in the north of the country in the states of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. They inhabit the rivers, billabongs, wetlands and creeks and can be fairly easy to spot when they’re basking in the sun, especially if you take someone experienced in looking for crocs with you. If you’re planning a trip to see crocodiles, the best approach is to book flights to Darwin, hire a car, and explore their habitat from there. The Kimberley and Kakadu national parks are probably the best places to see both types of crocodiles in the wild.
Other Animals to Seek Out
There are plenty of other non-indigenous animals that also call Australia home at various points of the year and are well worth looking for. Australian waters are very popular with sharks, and there are a variety in the water, ranging from the famous great white, the smaller but more aggressive bull shark and the large but completely harmless whale shark. In fact, 166 species of shark can be found around Australia. The koala is of course famous around the world as a symbol of Australia and can be found all along the eastern and south eastern coasts. If you want to get up close and personal, many zoos around the country allow you to hold them. Although only a small selection of the wildlife that can be found in Australia, this list should serve as a starting point for your future adventures. There’s no limit of new and exciting places to go and wildlife to see, especially if you know where to look and it’s always better to see animals in their natural habitat.
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Categories: WIldlife - general
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Federal environment minister Tony Burke and hs team have announced that the creation of the world’s largest network of marine parks is now entrenched in Australia’s legislation.
Read details of the protected areas here:
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/burke/2012/mr20120614.html
Wildlife Tourism Australia applauds the creation of these parks, which will help to protect the biodiversity of several of Australia’s marine ecosystems, as well as being beneficial to long-term fisheries and tourism.
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Categories: Conservation of wildlife and their habitats, News
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9 October, 2012
The Hon. Matthew Escott Conlan MLA
PO Box 8599, Alice Springs, NT 0871
[Copies to The Hon. Peter Chandler, the Hon. Bess Nungarrayi Price, and the Hon. Willem Rudolf Westra Van Holthe; Susan Fraser-Adams, Dr. Ronda Green, and Dr. Betty Weiler]
Dear Minister
I am a specialist birding guide working mainly with international markets, mostly American couples. I am also a PhD candidate, my topic being American birdwatchers who travel internationally, and vice-chair of Wildlife Tourism Australia. For some decades I have been taking clients to Mataranka, mostly to see Australia’s rarest bird of prey, a Red Goshawk. A pair nest on private property across the road from the Mataranka Cabins and Caravan Park.
Although the birds seem relatively unaffected by the attention paid to them I monitor my clients’ behaviour strictly. However, that is not always the case with other viewers who may be present in their dozens. While in Mataranka recently the proprietor of the Caravan Park told me that some birders, photographers and tour operators had behaved in ways that made them unwelcome. Some had climbed the fence into the private property and one, according to the proprietor, had even climbed the tree in which the bird nested.
On another occasion several other birders (thirty or forty according to the proprietor) had camped outside their property opposite the nesting tree. That year, according to the proprietor, the birds didn’t raise any young. She said that the police had been called on more than one occasion but had not attended.
Birdwatching tourism is a huge industry, and in the US and Canada it has been a mainstay for small towns in conjunction with cultural, historical and other tourism. But ‘twitchers’ like those mentioned above can wreck a local industry.
I emailed the Caravan Park proprietor suggesting that she and other residents take photos of miscreants that I could post to chatlines, and perhaps shame others into behaving properly. An example of such a posting is at http://g33k5p34k.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/birders-behaving-badly/. When I raised this issue on the Birding Australia chatline one birder told me that he had confronted a couple of photographers who had jumped the fence and positioned themselves between the female goshawk and her nest. I have asked that more birders intervene whenever they see such behaviour.
Another way of tackling such behaviour is for the tourism industry and authorities to target those with broader interests than ‘twitchers’, for example couples, who for reasons I don’t have space to go into here, tend to engage less in this sort of obsessive behaviour.
Yours sincerely
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
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Categories: Avoiding negative effects on wildlife, Birdwatching tourism, Good guiding practice, News
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A very detailed resource published this year by CSIRO is the book edited by Lee Curtis and others, ”Queensland’s Threatened Animals”
From CSIRO’s website:
This book features up-to-date distribution data, photos and maps for most of Queensland’s threatened animals. It also includes a comprehensive list of resources, with key state, national and international organisations involved in the recovery and management of threatened species.
To view further details (and order a copy) visit http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6473.htm
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Categories: Conservation of wildlife and their habitats
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Queensland has four species of large fruit bats (‘flying foxes’), which fly from their roosts in spectacular fashion at dusk to feed on fruits and nectar, dispersing seeds and pollens of native trees, shrubs and vines while doing so.
Unfortunately they have also developed a taste for some cultivated fruits, which can affect the livelihood of some orchardists. This year, ironically on threatened species days (since two of the species are considered vulnerable) new legislation was passed in Queensland allowing the culling of bats by shooting, but only as a last resort and with permits that must be sought from the state government.
Whether this is an efficient solution and whether conservation or animal welfare issues can be adequately monitored and controlled is still very much open to debate
There has also been much talk in the press about the Hendra virus, which is present in bats but can only be transmitted to humans by infected horses (which appear to be able to contract it from bats although the mechanism still seems uncertain). So far there have been four human deaths from this virus, but many of the public seem unaware that you cannot contract it directly from the bats, nor that you cannot contract the other potentially lethal virus carried by bats, Lyssa virus, unless scratched or bitten by a bat, which is unlikely to happen unless you are deliberately handling them. So far there have been two human deaths from this.
An amendment soon to be presented to parliament goes further than the original act, and would allow any landowner to cull bats and even destroy whole roosts if the landowner “reasonably believes” this is necessary to remove the risk to local health.
Wildlife Tourism Australia’s response to this amendment is here:
http://wildlifetourism.org.au/about/submissions/fruitbat-culling-without-permits/
Submissions to the Queensland government have officially closed, although you could still express your opinion to the environment minister. You can also have your say via the following survey:
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Categories: Animal welfare, Conservation of wildlife and their habitats, News, wildlife news
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