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News.com.au
28 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Deer filmed on busy Canberra road as ferial species populations booms
Residents of a major Australian city have been left stunned after a deer was filmed sprinting across busy traffic, as experts warn of an explosion in the feral species. In the video, uploaded to Facebook, a deer leaps out from the medium strip and in front of two cars on Ginninderra Dr in Canberra on Tuesday. The driver slows down for the invasive animal, which he said was large and with 'branched antlers', before exclaiming: 'What the f**k?' Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough said the video, while 'shocking', was no longer an 'uncommon sight in some of our major cities'. 'Deer numbers have exploded in recent years and they are increasingly going into our major cities,' Mr Gough said. 'That is a cost that's showing up on people's car insurance bill because they (deer) are increasingly turning up on roads, on train lines, and causing accidents.' Mr Gough said as deer numbers grew, the interactions between deer and drivers increased, which is a 'massive problem in terms of people's safety'. Earlier this month, pictures of a deer on train tracks near a station in Sydney's south were uploaded to Instagram, marking further encroachment by the species. The NSW Invasive Species Management Review found that more than 212 deer had been struck by trains in the northern Illawarra region alone since 2010-11. A further 107 motor vehicle incidents involving deer were also reported in the Wollongong and Lake Illawarra area from 2005-17, one being fatal. Mr Gough said the booming deer population had been met in NSW by decades of governmental delay and a lack of serious legislative action. A NSW Bill to expand hunting rights for so-called 'conservation hunters' will face a public inquiry later this year after pushback from the council and activists. The council has claimed the Bill, which will ease access to state forests for hunting, would do little to stem populations of feral animals, such as deer and pigs. Instead, Mr Gough said South Australia was 'leading the nation' in managing deer amid the encroachment of deer on the verdant Adelaide Hills area. 'They've got a 10-year plan to eradicate deer completely from the state,' Mr Gough said. 'That has been the consequence of some real leadership from the government, from across politics, to get on top of the issue.' For Canberrans unaccustomed to wild deer in city, the sight of the animal on Tuesday sparked mixed emotions, with some calling them 'majestic' and others for it to be shot. 'They're majestic until they write off your car and almost kill you in the process,' one Facebook user said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Sea burials rare but possible for those willing to face the obstacles
In the past decade, just 15 sea burial permits have been granted in Australia for people who wished to find their final resting place in the deep blue ocean. In some states, such as Tasmania, no sea burial permits have been granted since electronic records started in 1997. Travis Hamilton recently took on the "huge" challenge of fulfilling his dad Alan's burial wishes. Mr Hamilton said his father was a visionary with an unconventional approach to life, who held a lifelong wish to be interred at sea. Alan's send-off in April, 120 kilometres off the coast of Portland in Victoria, fulfilled that wish. He was the first Victorian in a decade to be buried at sea. It took 4.5 hours by boat to reach what became Alan's final resting place in the Southern Ocean. As the sun rose that morning, his body, wrapped in a natural shroud, was secured to a specially made wooden platform on a boat. A small group of family was there for the final farewell, supported by funeral staff and the boat's crew. They faced challenging 3-metre swells to reach the chosen location. But when they arrived, it was "eerily calm" and the "perfect" patch of blue. Alan's shrouded and weighted body quickly disappeared after being released into the sea. A biodegradable wreath and letters from family and friends were thrown into the ocean afterwards, and the boat traced a circle of honour around the burial site. Mr Hamilton said dolphins broke the surface of the water near the vessel soon after they departed. "It was spectacular, it was beautiful; I'd say it was joyous," Mr Hamilton told ABC Radio Melbourne. Mr Hamilton began researching sea burials when his father shared his desire for one in about 2020. He quickly realised how many challenges he'd have to overcome to achieve it. "When I told dad all of these challenges … he just smiled and said, 'Well, that's what I want,'" Mr Hamilton said. A state and federal permit was required for Alan's sea burial, which had to be done at a location with a depth of no less than 3,000 metres. To reach a patch of water of that depth, his body had to be transported beyond Australia's continental shelf. A chartered boat made the journey, requiring a captain willing to participate who then needed permits for the boat to travel the required distance and additional safety gear onboard. Portland is the closest port to the continental shelf in Victoria, and so became the location for departure. This required collaboration with a local funeral home to ensure Alan's body could be kept in a climate-controlled environment following transit from metropolitan Melbourne. Funeral operator Simon Mummé said many roadblocks and logistical challenges were overcome to ensure the burial could happen. He advised others organising a sea burial to start planning as early as possible, allowing time to overcome the many obstacles that must be faced. Embalming of the body, as is typically done, is prohibited for a sea burial. Mr Mummé said Alan's body could only be bathed and washed, then was kept in a climate-controlled environment to slow nature's processes. The shroud had to be biodegradable and weighted, Mr Mummé opted for iron weights over lead to reduce the environmental impact. Crucially, written consent from the deceased is needed. A formal letter or information in a will expressing the desire for a sea burial is essential. Mr Mummé said he was advised that online information stating the deceased must have a strong connection to the sea was not true or current. Alan did not have a strong connection to the sea, but liked to fish occasionally. A sea burial can cost upwards of $35,000 and the date must be flexible to allow for poor weather. If the cost or need for flexibility is prohibitive, there are alternatives that provide a connection to the sea. Funeral director Kimba Griffith once worked with clients attempting to fulfil a friend's wish for a sea burial, but ultimately advised them to choose a different option. "We found a charter company who would do it and we also found a funeral director in Warrnambool who would assist," she said. For alternative memorials or burials, Ms Griffith suggested returning a person's ashes to the water using a biodegradable urn, made from sand and vegetable matter. A coastal drive-by in a hearse, during which family and friends gather to toast the person, is another idea. A paddle out, where ashes are scattered by a group on surfboards or a vessel, is another popular choice. Lady Nelson tall ship master Astrid Wilson likes the simple but meaningful gesture of scattering ashes at sea. Ms Wilson has attended many memorials in a professional and personal capacity, where ashes were scattered from a boat or ship. No permit is required to scatter ashes in the ocean or water in Australia. Ms Wilson advised caution when scattering ashes, to ensure they did not blow back on participants. Ashes did blow back during an emotional memorial she once attended on a large ferry. Ms Wilson said she believed the person being remembered would have seen the humour in it. "It was for a chick who worked on Bass Strait her whole life — she was quite young — and cancer took her," she said. "She just wanted to go back to where she felt her happiest, which was at work on a ship on Bass Strait. "It was so special … she [her ashes] did swirl around and end up on the boat, but it was really good because it was just part of her." Mr Hamilton said he felt a huge sense of relief in being able to fulfil his dad Alan's final wish for a sea burial. Through his father's burial, and his own journey working in the funeral industry, he said he had learnt the importance of ritual. "Even if someone is cremated, the act of going out and having some sort of ceremony is really important," Mr Hamilton said.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Woylies release beyond predator fence marks bold jump for species in outback WA
Conservationists say the release of more than 100 woylies beyond the safety of a predator fence is a big, if bold, step towards repopulating the endangered species in Western Australia's remote Wheatbelt. The animals were released "beyond the fence" at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, 350 kilometres north of Perth, last week, following several decades of work to restore the population in the protected area. Once found across mainland Australia, the population of woylies — or brush-tailed bettongs — fell by almost 90 per cent due to land clearing and invasive species brought about by European settlement. In the Wheatbelt, the local population was believed to be extinct for more than 100 years. Over four nights, 147 woylies were carefully released into bushland outside Mt Gibson's fences, one of the largest and fastest translocation events by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Sixteen ecologists worked with local Badimia Rangers to relocate the animals. Wildlife ecologist Louis O'Neill said the newly released woylies faced some risks outside the safe area, but it was important that conservation efforts shook off a "safe haven" mindset. "We admit that we may lose a few individuals, but that's part of the process," he said. "Having the cat presence is important for the woylies to have some predator awareness because we can't get rid of cats across all of Australia. "The woylies can learn to develop anti-predator behaviours." The population at Mt Gibson has grown to more than 1,000 animals from the 162 introduced in 2016. Dr O'Neill said moving the population outside the fence would help the woylies resume their natural role in the broader ecosystem. "They can help with the soil turnover, nutrient recycling, seed germination," he said. Despite the dangers, conservationists are confident the animals will survive and breed. Working in their favour is recent baiting and cage trapping on 60,000 hectares of nearby bushland, with recent surveys confirming a low population of feral cats. "There's a low enough threshold that the woylies can coexist with [cats]" Dr O'Neill said. A number of woylies have also climbed the sanctuary's 2-metre fence in recent years, kick-starting the repopulation by themselves. "The young are growing up and surviving on the outside." Forty of the woylies were fitted with radio collars so that ecologists could track their movements outside the fence.
