Queensland, Australia: WWF has received numerous reports from aboriginal groups on the north-eastern coast of Australia of large numbers of sick, starving and dead turtles washing up on beaches. The reports come following the loss of sea grasses after Cyclone Yasi and floods hit the area back in February.
The increase in turtle deaths for April may be more than five times higher this year compared to the same time last year.
“If these numbers are accurate, then this is a shocking development for the Great Barrier Reef” said WWF’s Conservation on Country Manager Cliff Cobbo. “We urgently need clarification from the Queensland Government on how many turtles are being found dead along the Great Barrier Reef coast”.
Turtle hospitals in Townsville, Queensland are being overwhelmed with sick and starving animals and do not have the resources to handle the number of turtles expected to need emergency care over the next 18 months.
Some local aboriginal groups have been so concerned by what they are seeing they plan to suspend issuing hunting permits within their saltwater country.
CEO of the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, Phil Rist, said large numbers of dead turtles and dugongs had been found in recent weeks and that strandings are occurring on a weekly basis.
Numerous threats
WWF believes recent extreme weather events like Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods, together with threats such as entanglement in fishing nets, water pollution and large-scale coastal developments have led to this increase in deaths.
“In the past turtles have been healthy enough to deal with extreme weather events, but the combined pressure of more fishing nets, declining water quality and associated disease, on top of the loss of critical habitats as a result of large coastal developments have all undermined their chances of survival,” Cobbo said.
WWF is calling on both sides of Queensland politics to commit to building greater resilience in populations of threatened marine species on the Great Barrier Reef through reforming net fisheries, reducing land-based pollution on the reef, and better managing large coastal developments.
WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Programme
Five of the seven species of marine turtle are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
WWF has been working on marine turtle conservation for nearly 50 years and has provided a Global Marine Turtle Strategy to outline WWF priorities for marine turtle conservation.
The benefits of saving marine turtles go far beyond simply protecting these remarkable species.
Conservation efforts will make fisheries more sustainable and provide benefits to small communities and with marine turtles becoming increasingly important as an ecotourism attraction, a live turtle is worth more than a dead turtle.
Showing posts with label Queensland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queensland. Show all posts
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, November 25, 2010
24' crocodile lurks in river in Normanton, pastor says
Pastor reveals crocodile paw prints
Tipped to belong to 8m monster croc "Pretty much the biggest they've ever seen"
Krys the Crocodile at Normanton is purportedly a life-size model of Australia's biggest-known crocodile, which was killed in the 1950s and reportedly measured 8.6m / AAP Source: AAP
A footprint being measured at 25cm (10 inches) on the Norman River at Normanton, Queensland / AAP Source: AAP
A footprint being measured at 25cm (10 inches) on the Norman River at Normanton, Queensland / AAP Source: AAP
A PASTOR says he has evidence that an 8m croc lurks in a river in Queensland's Gulf country.
Pastor Elton Thompson said he took pictures of slide marks from the crocodile last Wednesday on the Norman River at Normanton.
"I haven't actually seen the crocodile but it was the slide marks that was left behind,'' Pastor Thompson said.
He said he took his measuring tape down to the bank.
It's paw imprint spanned 25cm, and some claw marks went into the mud 2.5cm deep.
It measured 1m between its two back feet.
"We're predicting the croc is 1.5m to 2m across its girth,'' he said.
"There's a possibility that the croc is 8m.''
Normanton is famous for its love affair with crocs.
An 8.64m alleged replica of a croc shot in the area in the 1950s sits proudly on the town's main street.
Pastor Thompson said the latest find is just as big.
"It's a big croc,'' he said.
"A few people have seen it in water. They're all saying it's about that size, if not bigger. It's pretty much the biggest croc they've ever seen.''
Crocodiles are regularly seen in the Gulf country and Pastor Thompson said locals aren't spooked.
"It doesn't bother anyone. There are crocs in the rivers up here everywhere. It is part of the country.''
24' crocodile lurks in river in Normanton, pastor says
Pastor reveals crocodile paw prints
Tipped to belong to 8m monster croc "Pretty much the biggest they've ever seen"
Krys the Crocodile at Normanton is purportedly a life-size model of Australia's biggest-known crocodile, which was killed in the 1950s and reportedly measured 8.6m / AAP Source: AAP
A footprint being measured at 25cm (10 inches) on the Norman River at Normanton, Queensland / AAP Source: AAP
A footprint being measured at 25cm (10 inches) on the Norman River at Normanton, Queensland / AAP Source: AAP
A PASTOR says he has evidence that an 8m croc lurks in a river in Queensland's Gulf country.
Pastor Elton Thompson said he took pictures of slide marks from the crocodile last Wednesday on the Norman River at Normanton.
"I haven't actually seen the crocodile but it was the slide marks that was left behind,'' Pastor Thompson said.
He said he took his measuring tape down to the bank.
It's paw imprint spanned 25cm, and some claw marks went into the mud 2.5cm deep.
It measured 1m between its two back feet.
"We're predicting the croc is 1.5m to 2m across its girth,'' he said.
"There's a possibility that the croc is 8m.''
Normanton is famous for its love affair with crocs.
An 8.64m alleged replica of a croc shot in the area in the 1950s sits proudly on the town's main street.
Pastor Thompson said the latest find is just as big.
"It's a big croc,'' he said.
"A few people have seen it in water. They're all saying it's about that size, if not bigger. It's pretty much the biggest croc they've ever seen.''
Crocodiles are regularly seen in the Gulf country and Pastor Thompson said locals aren't spooked.
"It doesn't bother anyone. There are crocs in the rivers up here everywhere. It is part of the country.''
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Bats under surveillance for Hendra clues
Scientists are monitoring bat activity on a southeast Queensland property where the latest Hendra virus outbreak occurred.
Biosecurity Queensland scientists are using infra-red cameras to film horses, bats and other wildlife at night at a Tewantin property, where a horse contracted Hendra, to see how the virus is transmitted to horses.
Bats are known to carry the virus but it's unclear how the virus is transmitted to horses.
It's a crucial link in the chain which could lead to preventative measures to stop horse to human transmissions.
Four of the seven people who contracted the virus from infected horses have died since the disease first emerged in 1994.
In the latest case, the infected horse was put down last week and 11 people who came into contact with it face a long wait before they can be cleared of the potentially fatal virus.
Biosecurity Queensland started monitoring bat activity on the property last week.
Research leader Dr Hume Field said so far bats had not been captured on camera, as bat activity on the property had since declined.
"We're trying to understand the specifics of what happens that allows the horse to become infected," Dr Field said.
"When flying foxes feed they often chew the fruit up, take the juice out and drop the rest on the ground but we don't know if this happens under a tree horses stand under and if the horses sniff at or eat this stuff.
"Also, do the bats come down to horse food bins and water troughs and is there a risk of contamination that way?"
Dr Field said using infra-red, time-lapse photography to monitor bats and horses interaction has been in the pipeline for six months after the technique proved successful in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh researchers used infra-red cameras to discover how the lethal Nipah virus, a relative of the Hendra virus, jumped from bats to humans.
"One of the modes of transmission of Nipah virus is from date palm where the sap of the trees is collected and sold to people as a drink," Dr Field said.
"To collect the sap they put an open pot underneath a cut and the sap trickles down into the pot and they were able to capture on film the bats licking at the cut in the tree and sometimes they were licking from the pots as well."
Dr Field said the saliva from infected bats was contaminating the juice consumed by people.
Since this discovery, pots and cuts on the trees are now covered, preventing contact with infected bats, he said.
The Queensland study will also observe any other nocturnal wildlife, such as possums, that interact with horses in case another animal may also be involved with the transmission of the disease.
The 12-month project is currently at the Tewantin property but may be moved to other areas in southeast Queensland
PETRINA BERRY
Brisbanetimes.com.au
Biosecurity Queensland scientists are using infra-red cameras to film horses, bats and other wildlife at night at a Tewantin property, where a horse contracted Hendra, to see how the virus is transmitted to horses.
Bats are known to carry the virus but it's unclear how the virus is transmitted to horses.
It's a crucial link in the chain which could lead to preventative measures to stop horse to human transmissions.
Four of the seven people who contracted the virus from infected horses have died since the disease first emerged in 1994.
In the latest case, the infected horse was put down last week and 11 people who came into contact with it face a long wait before they can be cleared of the potentially fatal virus.
Biosecurity Queensland started monitoring bat activity on the property last week.
Research leader Dr Hume Field said so far bats had not been captured on camera, as bat activity on the property had since declined.
"We're trying to understand the specifics of what happens that allows the horse to become infected," Dr Field said.
"When flying foxes feed they often chew the fruit up, take the juice out and drop the rest on the ground but we don't know if this happens under a tree horses stand under and if the horses sniff at or eat this stuff.
"Also, do the bats come down to horse food bins and water troughs and is there a risk of contamination that way?"
Dr Field said using infra-red, time-lapse photography to monitor bats and horses interaction has been in the pipeline for six months after the technique proved successful in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh researchers used infra-red cameras to discover how the lethal Nipah virus, a relative of the Hendra virus, jumped from bats to humans.
"One of the modes of transmission of Nipah virus is from date palm where the sap of the trees is collected and sold to people as a drink," Dr Field said.
"To collect the sap they put an open pot underneath a cut and the sap trickles down into the pot and they were able to capture on film the bats licking at the cut in the tree and sometimes they were licking from the pots as well."
Dr Field said the saliva from infected bats was contaminating the juice consumed by people.
Since this discovery, pots and cuts on the trees are now covered, preventing contact with infected bats, he said.
The Queensland study will also observe any other nocturnal wildlife, such as possums, that interact with horses in case another animal may also be involved with the transmission of the disease.
The 12-month project is currently at the Tewantin property but may be moved to other areas in southeast Queensland
PETRINA BERRY
Brisbanetimes.com.au
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