Wildlife Australia - Winter 2001

Contents…

Island Management in Crisis

Dingo culling has dangerously threatened Fraser Island's world heritage values, says leading Australian environmentalist John Sinclair.

Writing in the latest edition of "WILDLIFE Australia", John accuses the Queensland Government of needlessly reducing the dingo gene pool on Fraser Island, after government officers destroyed more than 30 dingoes as part of the reaction to the mauling death of a young boy in April. "This makes the tragedy of the young boy's death even more disturbing," he says.

Arguing that Fraser Island dingoes are genetically, Australia's purest dingo population and probably the world's best living example of the Asian Wolf, he goes on to explain…

"Because of their isolation, Fraser Island dingoes largely escaped the impact of hybridisation with domestic dogs, which have tainted most of the rest of Australia's dingo population. This island population is one of the best chances to preserve that purity.

"We don't destroy all the cars on the road because some have been involved in human fatalities. We don't demand that all domestic dogs be destroyed because some kill humans. Why then should Fraser Island dingoes be massacred?

"The purity of Fraser Island dingoes was one of the special values recognised in its world heritage listing in 1992. Thus Australia has an obligation to ensure that this genetic integrity is preserved," he says.

John's full article 'Island Management in Crisis' is available on-line in Adobe Acrobat.

A Little Ray of Sunshine

The chance discovery of a Japanese Devil Ray (Mobula japanica) on the shores of Fraser Island is the first confirmed sighting of this large deep-sea fish in Australian waters, reports "WILDLIFE Australia".

Until its serendipitous discovery by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Officer, Rod Hobson, on his way to work, marine specialists had only suspected that the Japanese Devil Ray ventured so far across the Pacific Ocean.

According to researchers at the Queensland Museum, the fish is known to inhabit tropical regions around the world and grow to a maximum disc width (wing tip to wing tip) of some 310 centimetres. Recovered from a beach near the Fraser Island township of Eurong, the newly found specimen has a disc size of 107 cm, Mr Hobson writes.

Nudibranchs - Time of the Ancient Mariner?

An ancient and little understood order of underwater animals might hold the key to breakthroughs in cancer treatment, says underwater ecologist Neville Coleman, in the latest of his regular articles.

Nudibranchs, sometimes called "butterflies of the sea", naturally produce powerful toxins as a means of chemical defence. These sightless, soft-bodied animals live at depths of up 1000 metres and can be found in almost any marine habitat.

Professor with Altitude

Nick Oliver, professor of Economic Geology at the School of Earth Sciences at James Cook University, has been poking around mountain ranges all his life. But there’s much more to this academic rock-hopper than meets the eye.

Missing In Action

Some of the world’s most beautiful frogs live on the New England Tablelands - where these Australian amphibians’ future is far from secure. Story and images by Rob Morgan.

Impressing the Neighbours

Regular WILDLIFE writer David Gibson reports on the strange happenings between fowl and feathered friends in his Alice Springs bush garden.

Australia's Winter Skies

Continuing his regular column, Mark Rigby raises our eyes to the features easily observable in the chilly night sky this winter.

Cyber Jungle

• San Georgiano Wilderness Association
• The Mountain Institute
• Frogland
• Africanwebsites
• Cyber Rangers

Also in this edition:

Run Off, Wildlife Report, EcoMedia, Book Reviews, Scratchings and Rustlings, WPSQ Update, Young and Wild, Zoom In, Nature Watch and our new environmental classified section.