Adventure Ausrama Blog

Cats are cuddly pets, but if they get into the wild they can cause native animals to become extinct. This has been the case in Australia. They hunt little marsupials until there are none left to eat then move on to consume something else. growing larger in the wild certainly help cats to survive very well indeed. Where did the cats originally come from? It was thought that Asia was the most likely place as Asian fishermen came to Australia's northern shores well before Europeans. However, research shows that they did come on boats from European countries whether as "stowaways" or more likely brought as pets to remind new arrivals of home. Moreover, having cats to hunt rodents on European ships was common in the early 1800s. Island cats were tested as they had not crossed with new cats imported from countries across the world, so the findings were accurate and Europeans are the culprits for spreading this pest. Keep your cat in the house and don't let it roam. ...

Rice came from Asia, more specifically China, right? You would be wrong. Genetic tests on rice grown today show it come from northern Australia. It was clean, uncontaminated and has been pinned down to Cape York in Queensland. Originally, it was growing wild in the tropics, an unusal place for rice as we associate it with wet conditions all year round. The real question is how did it get to Asia? Obviously, people from Asia came to Australia and took it home. The Middle East is the cradle of Mankind. For rice it is Australia. Wild rice growing there today is more genetically diverse than anywhere else in the world. Asian domestic and wild rice is inbred. Australian rice is wild. It grows there today unchanged by human intervention. This took place 7,000 years ago. Australian rice will be the basis of research to improve world food production. It holds the genetic keys to open the door very wide indeed. Modern rice varieties are just little sparks from the fire...

There is a problem in Australia in regard to claims that one is an Aboriginal. In the past, part Aboriginals have identified themselves as native Australians, so they are entitled to welfare benefits that white Australians cannot access. The Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie has ignited the debate by claiming she is Aboriginal. This is questioned by other Aboriginals. Sure she does look a little bit different than "pure" white Europeans, but the difference is minuscule. She actually claims that she is a descendant of Mannalargenna, a famous Tasmanian Aboriginal leader. Her offer of a DNA test to substantiate her claim is not of much use. Aboriginals originally came from Africa, as we all did. No genes have been identified as being unique to Australian Aboriginals. DNA testing was suggested in 2002 at the Tasmanian ATSIC elections. The issue is that Tasmanian Aboriginals were a different "race" than mainlanders. They were all killed b...

There is no way that Australia can prevent the extinction of some native animal species. Some can  be preserved with a national gene bank. Though a seed bank has already been set up to save native flora, nothing is planned for fauna. Present debate is centered on the loss of the northern and southern gastric brooding frog. If a gene bank had existed the frog would have been preserved. Australia has the worst record of native animals going extinct than anywhere else, not something to be proud of. Over 40 birds and mammals have disappeared since European settlement. Because government has been slow in allocating resources, private organizations have started gene banks. Indeed Taronga Conservation society Australia has stored genes from 20 native animals. This is far from adequate. Over 2,000 species need preservation. With the Taronga Conservation Society Australia, the Animal Gene Storage and Resource Centre of Australia at Monash University has a total of 100 endangere...

Alien predators are the main danger to the survival of Australia's native wildlife. Foxes and cats are clearing many areas of native animals. Indeed, Australian fauna has been the hardest hit in the world. Bettongs (rat-kangaroo) and wombats for example are oblivious to the danger when a cat or fox is present. Australian prey have developed camouflage to defend themselves from native predators, but alien predators can see through this. Thousands of years of isolation have made native fauna vulnerable. Other continents have long had the cat, goat, grey squirrel, mouse, pig, rabbit, red deer, red fox and ship rat, so their native animals have learned to survive and avoid extinction.  Responsibility lies clearly with early European immigrants.  The damage was done a few hundred years ago. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure-...

It has recently been discovered that the way to fight the intrusive cane toad in Australia is to fence off all waterholes and dams. Without water they die. Another method has also been identified. A chemical that is in the toad itself is used against it. Tadpoles contain this chemical that kills toad eggs on contact. Those that survive grow at a slower rate than normal, so they are more vulnerable to predators. The chemical is harmless to native species. Ways of implementing this strategy nationwide need to be developed, but this is only a matter of time. The pest has just reached the far west coast of Australia, leaping its way across the whole country. West Australians are on search and destroy missions into the night. Queenslanders gave up on this years ago at it had no impact on their numbers. The fight continues. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.te...

The ubiquitous house sparrow found in just about every country is being examined by scientists. They successfully populate new regions by discarding their "companion" parasites. Though they force their way into new niches, they don't kill off native birds and animals with their resident parasites. Sparrow parasites spread avian malaria. It seems that this disease is not spread to new areas because parasites that carry it are discarded. Without this deadly malady sparrows thrive. House sparrows originally came from Western Europe. They successfully live alongside humans. The cheeky little birds get much closer than other birds to people. This enables them to get food easily. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biology

Here we go again. Beliefs of a small group win out over commonsense. We all know that the land around Uluru, Ayers Rock, is sacred. That is accepted. Saying it is too sacred to go boating on a freshwater lake in South Australia is absolute rot. The native Aboriginals, the Arabunna, at Lake Eyre are making outrageous claims. How does boating affect their beliefs that objects have souls? If you want to believe that grains of sand have souls so be it, but leave everyone else alone. The Arabunna were quite happy with local boating until plans were made to hold a sailing event by a yacht club. Nothing has changed. Swimming will be banned next. Aboriginals are afraid to use the lake anyway because they fear the lake's spirit keeper. It all boils down to a dispute with the government over native title. If things aren't going well say something is sacred and stop this, stop that, stop everything. It is just bloody mindedness. As the commodore of Lake Eyre Yacht Club says: this infringe...