One hot sparrow
2 Comments »27th November, 2014; Category: Bird Behaviour
I was very tempted to use the following title: “One hot bird”.
[Snigger]
Seriously, that title might well have attracted the wrong crowd to this post.
Summer here in South Australia is only a few days away. We have already experienced a few hot days over 30c (86F) and the nights are very mild, not dropping below about 10c (50F). As a result we have not had to light our slow combustion fire for several months. Just as well.
A few days ago we heard terrible scrabbling noises coming from the chimney. Next thing a House Sparrow appeared in the fire box, so it was lucky for it that we didn’t have a fire roaring in there. We are quite puzzled as to how it managed to actually get in there. Now we had the problem of getting it out.
My dear wife had the easiest of solutions: open the sliding door three metres away, then open the door to the fireplace.
ZOOM. Like a speeding bullet that little bird raced towards the light, through the open door and out to freedom again.
Well done little bird.
Keep your cats inside
No Comments »1st November, 2014; Category: Animals
Warning: controversial material.
You have been warned. Cat lovers – this article may upset you, but this article is backed by solid scientific research.
A recent CSIRO study has estimated that over 75 million Australian creatures (birds, reptiles, mammals etc) are killed by cats every day. Read that again: 75 million daily.
Furthermore, cats have been identified as the prime reason for the extinction of mammal species in recent years. Extinction is forever.
If you love your cat, keep it indoors all the time. Other studies have shown that the average lifespan of a domestic cat allowed to roam freely is 4 years. However, cats living indoors all the time live, on average, 14 years. The implication is obvious; if you love your cat and want it to live a long life, keep it indoors.
Domestic cats left to roam very frequently go feral, or breed with feral cats. I hope you never come face to face with a truly wild, feral cat; they are enormous, wily, and truly terrifying hunters. We have over 20 million of them out there in our cities, suburbs, rural areas and the bush.
Federal Environmental Minister Greg Hunt recently told Background Briefing that he wants to focus on feral cat eradication, announcing a 10-year plan to control them.
“Right now we have the best part of 20 million oversized, over hungry, ferocious predators in the wild and that’s what we have to deal with,” he said. “Although, making sure that we have very solid and safe protocols with our councils for ensuring that [domestic] cats are registered and microchipped and sterilised I think is very important,” Mr Hunt said.
As I have stated here on a number of occasions, especially in the comments, is that cats have no place in our Australian environment.
Furthermore, both feral and domestic cats are a serious health risk due to being transmitters of the disease toxoplasmosis.
Further reading:
- Calls for Australian cats to be kept indoors
- The Mayo Clinic: Toxoplasmosis – a serious disease transmitted by cats, both wild and domestic.