Australian Birds of Prey Are Deliberately Setting Forests On Fire (cosmosmagazine.com)

An anonymous reader writes: If you've been counting the ways the Australian environment is trying to kill you, you can now add "arson" to the list. According to a six-year study published in The Journal of Ethnobiology, observers have confirmed what Aboriginal rangers have been observing for years: birds of prey routinely carry burning or smouldering sticks into dry grassy areas to scare small mammals into fleeing so they can be pack-hunted more effectively. This has implications for environmental management, since the best firebreak will not protect your controlled burn from a "firehawk" determined to breach it.

Comments

I hope

[dwywit]

that I don't get targeted by a short-sighted wedge-tailed eagle.

That's a *hell* of a fear to overcome - and a hell of leap for a hunter to make. It's not like they'd accidentally pick up a burning stick and remember that dropping it in just the right area results in lots of dinner running about in the open.

Re:I hope

[ravenshrike]

Wow you're a fucking idiot. Wildfires don't cause long term loss of habitat in grasslands. Hell, they don't cause long term loss of habitat in forests unless a bunch of complete fucking MORONS pass a bunch of legislation not allowing them to occur on a regular basis and let the brush build up to forest-destroying levels.

Re:Firewolves

[Anonymous Coward]

They get a territory with protection from their primary predator (humans) plus a share of the kill - it's pretty easy work for them with a reliable year round food source unlike out in the wild where winter can be leaner.