Koalas Gone Wild

Mabon writes "CNN reports that 30,000 of the starving animals are destroying the ecosystem by stripping away the greenery. The Austrailian government proposes shooting some 20,000 of them to reduce the amount of gum trees used by the animals."

Comments

Worthless article

[Thomas A. Anderson]

That CNN article is the most useless one I've read in ages. It fails to provide any of the following information:

1) How would nature control population growth in koalas?

2) Have we in some way removed that control and can it be re-introduced.

All the article talks about is why we should or should not shoot them. There is no indication whatsoever that anybody cares why the koalas are overpopulated (and no, a quick blurb about urbanization doesn't count).

Re:Worthless article

[node 3]

1) How would nature control population growth in koalas?

1. Introduce a deadly predator capable of killing 20,000 of them (which is the plan).

2. Disease (bad idea).

3. Famine (the plan is to prevent this because the Australians like trees and koalas).

That doesn't mean I advocate a hunt as a solution to every animal problem, but sometimes it is the solution.

Re:Worthless article

[SEE]

1) How would nature control population growth in koalas?
2) Have we in some way removed that control and can it be re-introduced.

The island itself is not a native habitat for koalas; they were introduced by humans. There is therefore no natural control on the koalas on the island. To restore the natural balance, one would eliminate the artifical infestation by the artificial means of killing all the koalas.

Re:Worthless article

[azav]

WWND: What Would Nature Do?

1) Starvation or disease

2) Nature is taking its course. It is a standard population model of food availability and population increase that is explained in Biology of Populations.

We apply our human morals to a natural process and declare it "bad". Well, it may be but it IS what happens in nature when the population of a species exceeds the carrying capacity and food availability of the environment that holds it.

If the population needs to be controlled, the proven method is to thin the reproducing females or relocate them into another population.

PIck up an Ecology or Bio of Populations book. Very enlightening reading.

Re:Worthless article

[Anonymous Coward]

Careful, it's not human morals that make it look "bad," it's mainly Western urban morals, or perhaps Christian morals. Many (most?) cultures outside of Western societies definitely don't have a problem with letting nature run its course.

Re:Worthless article

[bigsteve@dstc]

Nature is taking its course.

... except that Koalas are not native to Kangaroo Island.

This is like saying feral cats and foxes pushing many Australian native mammals and birds to extinction is "nature taking its course". It is true, but beside the point.

What Australians (those who care about these things) want is that the wild places of Australia are like they were before Capt Cook "discovered" Terra Australis. If this means killing introduced pests like cats, foxes, rabbits, camels, cane toads ... and culling koala and roo populations that have gotten out of control ... so be it.

FYI, the Australian lanscape has been actively managed by man for thousands of years. This is the natural state of things.

Re:Worthless article

[d-rock]

Well, racoons are native to North America but not to Hawaii or Death Valley. Australia is a huge country/continent. Kangaroo Island is a small island off the South coast, near Adelaide. They really aren't native on the island and they *are* forcing other animals out. I was there last year and it didn't seem that bad (we only saw a handful of Koalas in the Koala sanctuary on the West end of the island), but on an island it can be fairly easy to disturb the natural balance.

Derek

Re:Eat 'em

[0x0d0a]

Other places have taken similar steps: Lousiana has a problem with damage done by nutria (think sorta like a muskrat) that was once prized as a furbearer but now is regarded as an invasive species and as a nuisance. The solution provided by the website: "The Coastwide Nutria Control Program, paired with the promotion of nutria meat as a high-protein, low-fat food source, is the main hope for Louisiana's coast." Yum.

Good job, PETA. "Don't wear fur, don't wear fur, don't...damn, we're covered in muskrats."

Re:Hypocrisy

[RockModeNick]

Just read the posts, they are NOT native to the landmass where the culling is proposed, and should probably be wiped out in total from that area. Are you saying we should let them live there, strip the environment, and threaten native ecology, just as nonnative species and human encroachment does to them? That makes you sound pretty hypocritical.

Re:Think of the costs associated...

[gardyloo]

I guarantee that if you put an advert in some hunting magazine, and make a lottery out of it, you'll get people wanting to travel there, and spend their own money to shoot these things. Yes, you'll get some whacko hunter types, but they'll not only spend their own money on airfare, gas, food, ammo, etc., but they'll bring in tourist dollars at the same time.

Reminds me of the Futurama with the Penguins

[HowIsMyDriving?]

Animals are cute, till there are too many.