Roadrunners, emus, wedge-tailed eagles, kiwis & YOU!

[Wildeblood]

How do I say, "The Greens Party are irrelevant to people who care about conservation and environmental issues because they have become too focused on social-progressivism. We need a proper green-only lobby group without the watermelons," in 140 or fewer characters? There is a prize for anyone who can solve this problem.

[spud42]

i tried for the cause but failed miserably.

do road runners taste like chicken??

w.e.cyotee #nevercaughtone

[Wildeblood]

On a less serious note, "control" is an illusion, and this country's track record with introduced species would tend to argue against your argument.

Our record with both introduced and native species is disastrous. That's no excuse for giving up on either category. This country needs active environmental management more than ever; standing by and watching while everything dies, saying "Oh well, that's nature for ya," is criminal.

Today I found this comment on the Conversation website, I don't know who the author was, it's identified only as "rtb5chars rtblast", and it's a year old. I'm quoting it (with punctuation corrections) because it exactly states my attitude to the environment:-

The most important thing seems to be forget about preserving the original ecological balance and focus on establishing and maintaining a sound ecological balance.

If you have an out of balance system, like the Murray Darling river system, forget the silly idea of returning it to its original, pristine state and focus on making the system healthy, workable and sustaining. Balance water use, and add whatever additional species are required to clean the system up and make it more fit for purpose.

Original should not be the driver, healthy and environmentally sound should be.

Right now, should we be focused on turning our desert environments green and into a massive greenhouse gas sink, or preserve them as deserts; which is the more sensible policy?

[Ranthe]

Evolution? Please explain?

Evolution is the process by which species change over generations into new species. The changes can be caused by random mutation, environmental influences and luck.
In America, a specific set of circumstances and factors led a pre-Roadrunner species to evolve into the Roadrunner. These circumstances did not occur in Australia. Specifically there were fewer roads, and no predators (Coyotes) to spur the development path that led to the Roadrunner. Australian pre-Roadrunners encountered different influencing factors, where being much bigger and having a long neck were definite advantages, so in Australia, the proto-roadrunner evolved into the Emu.
I thought everybody knew that!

And across the ditch in New Zealand, the proto-roadrunner evolved into the Moa, which then died out due to a chronic lack of roading and being monstered to death by Haast's Eagles.

[Wildeblood]

And across the ditch in New Zealand, the proto-roadrunner evolved into the Moa, which then died out due to a chronic lack of roading and being monstered to death by Haast's Eagles.

Can't believe I didn't reply to this last week. I thought I had.
Best link ever, Ranthe!

Anyway, my question for everyone today is do conservation parks exist in your part of the world? And if so, what do they conserve - local or exotic species? (Is anyone conserving roadrunners in Europe, in case North America gets hit by an asteroid?) Decades ago, we used to have a lion park here in Perth, but it went broke because lions weren't cute enough to lure in lots of visitors.

[Wildeblood]

Do you know how big emus are?

Yes, I've been pecked by one.

Read this, Smivs. It compares emus to Zulu warriors.

Great Emu Wars

[Alex]

I haven't received any reply from the Greens party yet to my query regarding a conservation strategy for road runners in Australia. Disappointed!

Surely the first step should be to actually find a roadrunner in Australia..

No such tiny bird here. Though there are Emus

[Alex]

I thought the Gold wing Eagle was bigger than the wedge tail. Still not bigger than the Andes Vulture. 20feet+ wing span and a bill that can rip an Ox apart. One big bird you don't want to meet, or should that be not being meat?
By the way, there is some proof that the Roc did exist. Bet it was tasty.

[Wildeblood]

BBC News link: A wedge-tailed eagle tried to fly away with a boy at a popular wildlife show in central Australia.

[SteveKing]

Well, that's got to be the thin end of the wedge's tail ...

[spud42]

NT mate.. everythings different there..lol

http://www.ntnews.com.au/

[Alex]

BBC News link: A wedge-tailed eagle tried to fly away with a boy at a popular wildlife show in central Australia.

Was thinking. That eagle looks pretty small. Having seen a full grown Golden Eagle up close. Also had an Eagle Owl perch on my arm. The one thing that is really unsettling is the Paddington Bear stare they share. You know it is pure predator and only thinking.
"Shall I eat you".
The Eagle Owl had a wing span of 5'7" and weighed just under 4Kg. I stand up at a towering 5'5", but totally dwarf it on the scales. So didn't feel too threatened. Just keeping in mind, if it attacks, just fall on top of it!

Any way decided to do a wee search on beasties in question;

http://dinoanimals.com/animals/the-larg ... ey-top-10/

Wedge Tail? No.12

That's what I love about this site. You might start on one subject. But never seem to fail in learning something totally new about something totally different.

[Wildeblood]

Another one! They're getting bolder...

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary worker attacked in face by wedge-tailed eagle