This is a really cool story. With so many individuals coming from a small population, are there no serious inbreeding problems?
IRL Wildlife Encounters
- Thread starter Markiz
- Start date
Nothing too serious, at the very least they're not suffering too much from disease (a recent study found that 46.7% of them still tested positive for chlamydia, but strangely the vast majority aren't displaying any negative symptoms), but the population is still highly inbred and almost all the koalas are related to each other. There have been proposals to introduce new koalas from other parts of Australia to supplement the genetic diversity of the population, but I don't think any have gone through yet. In the meantime the main management focus has just been getting the population down to more natural levels through sterilisation programs (they're 13 times more abundant than they should be in some areas).
I ticked an item from my bucket list a few years ago in Monterey Bay where I went whale watching. Just happened to be a year with the largest number of blue whales they'd seen in a couple of decades. I spent many a happy afternoon out on the boats with the biggest animal on earth. At a different scale we have a camera trap we set up near the Peneda Geres national park in Portugal about 15m away from the house. On the first night we put it out we got images of wild boar, a polecat, a fox and a common genet which is my favourite.
PZ animals I've seen:
American alligator
American bullfrog
Red fox
Green iguana
Animals i want in PZ I've seen:
Roseate spoonbill
Brown pelican
North american porcupine
West Indian manatee
Turkey vulture
Florida gar
Some kind of barracuda
Some kind of parrotfish
Sargent major
Mallard duck
Ghost crab
Wild turkey
(these next few were in a lagoon at a hotel in Florida which idk if they count)
tarpon
Caribbean spiny lobster
Animals I don't want in PZ I've seen.
bottlenose dolphin
great blue heron
white tailed deer
humpback whale
American alligator
American bullfrog
Red fox
Green iguana
Animals i want in PZ I've seen:
Roseate spoonbill
Brown pelican
North american porcupine
West Indian manatee
Turkey vulture
Florida gar
Some kind of barracuda
Some kind of parrotfish
Sargent major
Mallard duck
Ghost crab
Wild turkey
(these next few were in a lagoon at a hotel in Florida which idk if they count)
tarpon
Caribbean spiny lobster
Animals I don't want in PZ I've seen.
bottlenose dolphin
great blue heron
white tailed deer
humpback whale
Wanted to receive this cool thread. I'm out in the country now, and I've been seeing some whitetail deer all over and some nine-banded armadillos, as well.
Well, last night I slept outside in the hammock (with some blankets to keep warm, since it was chilly). I have the dogs locked up on the deck so that they don't wander off (especially the shih tzu, as he's very small), and it's, what? 3 in the morning?
So, all of a sudden I wake up, and then the dogs start barking, so I say "shh". They stopped, and that's when I heard, in the distance, the spine tingling shriek of a fox, followed by a coyote pack war cry. And then a 2nd time, the same thing: fox, followed by coyotes.
Now, I'm not saying I know for sure, but all of sudden it stopped, so it really sounded like these coyotes were attacking this poor little fox. I'm just assuming, though, but still, creepy
Well, last night I slept outside in the hammock (with some blankets to keep warm, since it was chilly). I have the dogs locked up on the deck so that they don't wander off (especially the shih tzu, as he's very small), and it's, what? 3 in the morning?
So, all of a sudden I wake up, and then the dogs start barking, so I say "shh". They stopped, and that's when I heard, in the distance, the spine tingling shriek of a fox, followed by a coyote pack war cry. And then a 2nd time, the same thing: fox, followed by coyotes.
Now, I'm not saying I know for sure, but all of sudden it stopped, so it really sounded like these coyotes were attacking this poor little fox. I'm just assuming, though, but still, creepy
Perhaps it was a malfunctioning skinwalker
Where I live we don't encounter exciting wildlife. My most 'scary' encounters was a banana spider (the one in game) on my hand that was Hidden in bananas. I had a good scare. And to a lesser extent a huge Tiger python that hang on a Guy next to me when i was at a reptile exhibition. In Costa rica I encountered plenty of wildlife: birds, bats, sloth, spiders, snakes, iguanas, coatis....
I've been out searching for wildlife a fair bit lately, so here's some of my favourite photographs and/or encounters from the past two months:
A herd of feral goats amongst a grove of grass trees
A prong-snouted blind snake found on a fossicking trip, the first blind snake I've ever seen!
One of many many pygmy bluetongue skinks I've caught over the past month while volunteering for translocation research - it's been a privilege working with such a unique and endangered lizard! Rather uniquely for a reptile, you need a fishing rod to get a hold of these guys!
A singing honeyeater feeding on nectar from a eucalypt
A large male red kangaroo that allowed me to get unusually close
My first mulga snake or king brown, Australia's largest venomous snake. These southern individuals don't get as big as their northern counterparts though
A very wary sand goanna, moments before fleeing at high speed - they don't call them "racehorse goannas" for nothing
Grey butcherbird mum and fledgeling
The ever common sleepy lizard or shingleback
A southern spiny-tailed gecko, one of three I saw last night
As a little bonus, here are my best pictures of the three species I've seen in the wild that have been added to PZ since the last time I posted here:
Don't have that many pictures of red-necked wallabies or red deer given they're found further southeast than where I'm at, but I've got plenty of emus. They're such charismatic animals and make great photo subjects!
A herd of feral goats amongst a grove of grass trees
A prong-snouted blind snake found on a fossicking trip, the first blind snake I've ever seen!
One of many many pygmy bluetongue skinks I've caught over the past month while volunteering for translocation research - it's been a privilege working with such a unique and endangered lizard! Rather uniquely for a reptile, you need a fishing rod to get a hold of these guys!
A singing honeyeater feeding on nectar from a eucalypt
A large male red kangaroo that allowed me to get unusually close
My first mulga snake or king brown, Australia's largest venomous snake. These southern individuals don't get as big as their northern counterparts though
A very wary sand goanna, moments before fleeing at high speed - they don't call them "racehorse goannas" for nothing
Grey butcherbird mum and fledgeling
The ever common sleepy lizard or shingleback
A southern spiny-tailed gecko, one of three I saw last night
As a little bonus, here are my best pictures of the three species I've seen in the wild that have been added to PZ since the last time I posted here:
Don't have that many pictures of red-necked wallabies or red deer given they're found further southeast than where I'm at, but I've got plenty of emus. They're such charismatic animals and make great photo subjects!
That's so cool. I wanna visit Australia for the sole purpose of seeing animals, nothing else (well, it depends: how is y'all's food? Is it good? If so, I'll go for the food, too)I've been out searching for wildlife a fair bit lately, so here's some of my favourite photographs and/or encounters from the past two months:
A herd of feral goats amongst a grove of grass trees
A prong-snouted blind snake found on a fossicking trip, the first blind snake I've ever seen!
One of many many pygmy bluetongue skinks I've caught over the past month while volunteering for translocation research - it's been a privilege working with such a unique and endangered lizard! Rather uniquely for a reptile, you need a fishing rod to get a hold of these guys!
A singing honeyeater feeding on nectar from a eucalypt
A large male red kangaroo that allowed me to get unusually close
My first mulga snake or king brown, Australia's largest venomous snake. These southern individuals don't get as big as their northern counterparts though
A very wary sand goanna, moments before fleeing at high speed - they don't call them "racehorse goannas" for nothing
Grey butcherbird mum and fledgeling
The ever common sleepy lizard or shingleback
A southern spiny-tailed gecko, one of three I saw last night
As a little bonus, here are my best pictures of the three species I've seen in the wild that have been added to PZ since the last time I posted here:
Don't have that many pictures of red-necked wallabies or red deer given they're found further southeast than where I'm at, but I've got plenty of emus. They're such charismatic animals and make great photo subjects!
Can't say our food scene is particularly notable unless you really like meat pies and white bread lol. There's definitely good stuff around though.
Oh wow, meat pies? Like an empanada? We practically eat the same thing in Argentina, too. Meat meat meat and bread bread bread
When I was a kid, I went to Sweden skiing. One day on the top of a mountain, being pulled by the skilift, I noticed something in my peripheral vision. When I looked a wolf was running besides me a few feet away watching me back. I should have been scared (with no other humans in sight) but for some reason I had the feeling that I was safe. After a minute or so, the wolf left. I still cherish that moment. It reminded of "walking a dog". No wonder I guess. They share roughly 100% of their genes.
One morning some years ago, I was walking to work. I saw a duck couple lying on a low wall enjoying the early morning sun, and I nodded and said "good morning". The male duck nodded back
These days I'm fascinated by the crow family, because of their intelligence. The other day I noticed a magpie that came flying with what looked like a dry piece of bread. The bird landed at puddle of water, dropped the bread from it's beak into the water, and turned the bread a couple of times using its foot. It even let it soak a little just standing patiently there. I was like
Could a bird sort of "cook its food"? When I came home I googled it, and yes, magpies are known to soak food to make it easier to eat. Cooking by humans is what we consider culture, and it may be that the magpie didn't use spices, but it still blew my mind. Another example of something we consider something only humans can do, which turns out not to be true. I bet a magpie can create a decent bonfire, but they don't do it, when the humans are watching
One morning some years ago, I was walking to work. I saw a duck couple lying on a low wall enjoying the early morning sun, and I nodded and said "good morning". The male duck nodded back
These days I'm fascinated by the crow family, because of their intelligence. The other day I noticed a magpie that came flying with what looked like a dry piece of bread. The bird landed at puddle of water, dropped the bread from it's beak into the water, and turned the bread a couple of times using its foot. It even let it soak a little just standing patiently there. I was like
Could a bird sort of "cook its food"? When I came home I googled it, and yes, magpies are known to soak food to make it easier to eat. Cooking by humans is what we consider culture, and it may be that the magpie didn't use spices, but it still blew my mind. Another example of something we consider something only humans can do, which turns out not to be true. I bet a magpie can create a decent bonfire, but they don't do it, when the humans are watching 
My husband's parrot is an accomplished soup maker. He will not eat his food without soaking it and very carefully considers which non-food "ingredients" to add to the mix. A favorite is dyed wood chunks which change the color.When I was a kid, I went to Sweden skiing. One day on the top of a mountain, being pulled by the skilift, I noticed something in my peripheral vision. When I looked a wolf was running besides me a few feet away watching me back. I should have been scared (with no other humans in sight) but for some reason I had the feeling that I was safe. After a minute or so, the wolf left. I still cherish that moment. It reminded of "walking a dog". No wonder I guess. They share roughly 100% of their genes.
One morning some years ago, I was walking to work. I saw a duck couple lying on a low wall enjoying the early morning sun, and I nodded and said "good morning". The male duck nodded back
These days I'm fascinated by the crow family, because of their intelligence. The other day I noticed a magpie that came flying with what looked like a dry piece of bread. The bird landed at puddle of water, dropped the bread from it's beak into the water, and turned the bread a couple of times using its foot. It even let it soak a little just standing patiently there. I was like
Interestingly, when presented with pre-colored food he will sort it and has a clear color preference (red, then orange, then yellow, then blue, then green. Never purple) and this preference is mirrored by the color frequency of his soup (it's usually red, sometimes other colors, never purple).
He also manufactures cups out of shells or chewed off chunks of toy so that he can transport and eat his soup wherever he pleases. He is a frightening smart little guy.
Wow that is amazing! Enjoy and keep us updated with pictures
i don't have pictures but i once witnessed a squabble between a red fox and snowy owl over a dead eastern cotten-tail
Wow that's a big hedgehog, I thought the little ones who keep stealing all my bushes in my garden were big enough