http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/3310905/slow-death-from-tiny-mites/?cs=119
This is a story from our local paper about sarcoptic mange, a fatal disease threatening wombats.
It seems to be killing all wombats which get infected and in the last couple of years has reached crisis levels, a major national tragedy for this iconic animal. I don't think the seriousness of the situation can be overstated. I encourage all biby readers to contact their local members at state level to urge that action be taken asap to try to protect the wombats.
I may be wrong, but it seems that a serious imbalance is occuring in our environment at large. A number of animal species are being attacked by tiny mites, ticks etc sending their populations crashing & threatening extinctions. As Greg has posted wombats are in the firing line & I saw recently that the Forty Spotted Pardalote is also in the gun. The thought has occurred to me that since climate change is causing a rise in night time temperatures then conditions might be improving for the survival of more of these tiny predatory creatures. That's just one thought. My strong suspicion is that we haven't even begun to dream about the repercussions of our profligate dependence on fossil fuels. The paltry efforts of governments world wide to do anything substantial about climate change will surely brand them as governments of extinction.
I knew dogs got sarcoptic mange but I didn't know wombats could get it!
Yes good point Woko it DOES seem like more and more parasites and diseases are getting out of control in wild animal populations, whereas before they were something that the animals could deal with. Climate change one possibility, as I'm pretty sure I've read it's going to increase the geographic range of various human diseases and parasites. Also just the increased stress on wild animals increases their susceptibility to disease/parasites. There's a host of factors that could stress wild animals, most of which we probably don't even know about.
I learned yesterday that Citrus Gall Wasp has spread from Queensland & northern NSW to Victoria & SA. Is climate change a factor in this? And where are the native predators to control these wasps if we keep clearing natural habitat? Our horticulture is dependent on a healthy environment but our authorities are still a long way from grasping this fact.
Baked coal lumps for dinner, anyone?
It's a very sad fact, I had to ask my neighbour (a very good and resposible shooter in his 70ties) , to come and shoot Wombats on my property. There were two last year, and just last week I saw one more. All of the had mange, and were blind.
The local vet hands out some liquid you can hang in the entrance of the burrow, or under the fence , if you know where they come and go.
I have that many wombat holes though, I can't hang things on all of them. The numbers of Wombats in my area has exploded. We never had that many before. Sadly many get killed by cars on the road, every time I drive the 25 Km to do my shopping, I find at least 3 being run over by cars.
M-L
Araminta, I realise that wombats are a pest to some, but mange will cause the local extinction of wombats in many places. It is unfortunate that many people see their own convenience as more important than wildlife, but once these things are lost they are very hard to replace. Today it is wombats and tasmanian devils, tomorrow it may be kangaroos. A bit of damage to a few cars is a small price for our wonderful wildlife, but too high a price for many.
Spot on, Greg. A little less frantic driving might give us a lot more wildlife. And I heard on radio yesterday that somebody had deliberately run over & killed a number of wombats.