# Elephants could battle pests in Australia



## GSXR_Boy (Feb 2, 2012)

Elephants could battle pests in Australia 

It also mentions releasing Komodo dragons in Oz lol.


*Unleashing wild elephants into Australia's outback could be one way of fighting invasive pests and reducing fire hazards, an Australian scientist says.*
Some of his contemporaries are not convinced, however, saying the only result might be a jumbo-sized environmental headache.
In an article for the journal Nature, David Bowman paints a vision of the enormous mammals roaming through Australia's savannas chomping down on gamba grass - an African pest.
Professor Bowman, an environmental change biologist at the University of Tasmania, says all options need to be honestly considered to manage Australia's changing environment.
He suggests problems with fire and feral animals could be managed by introducing elephants, rhinoceroses and Komodo dragons.
With around five per cent of the continent being burnt in bushfires last year, the introduction of large animals could help reduce the amount of the flammable gamba grass that is widespread in northern areas, Prof Bowman says.
"It is too big for marsupial grazers (kangaroos) and for cattle and buffalo," he writes.
"But gamba grass is a great meal for elephants or rhinoceroses.
"The idea of introducing elephants may seem absurd, but the only other methods likely to control gamba grass involve using chemicals or physically clearing the land, which would destroy the habitat."
Prof Bowman argues that the government should stop spending millions on "piecemeal" programs that inevitably fail.
Instead, he said, a "holistic approach" needed to be taken to manage predators, control feral animals and get herbivores to eat the flammable grasses that turn the continent into a tinderbox.
"Using mega-herbivores may ultimately be more practical and cost-effective, and it would help to conserve animals that are threatened by poaching in their native environments."
He said it would be essential to proceed cautiously but argued that the usual approaches weren't working.
"The full spectrum of options needs to be canvassed in an open and honest way."
Dr Rickey Spencer, from the University of Western Sydney, said Prof Bowman's comments raised important issues but were "careless".
"If we did go down that road of introducing elephants to Australia, we had better develop the technology to clone the sabre-tooth tigers to eventually control the elephants," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile Don Driscoll, a fellow at the Australian National University, said he did not think introducing elephants was viable but it was important to consider all options.
"Invasive species have wiped out much of Australia's natural heritage ... and international trade combined with pressures to increase agricultural productivity worsen the problem," Dr Driscoll said in a statement


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## bellany (Feb 2, 2012)

hmmmmmmmm


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## tyson001 (Feb 2, 2012)

i think some one just wants a komodo .


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## Klaery (Feb 2, 2012)

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.....


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## spinner_collis (Feb 2, 2012)

I'll take one white rhino please!


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## Trench (Feb 2, 2012)

and now we will find out that the elephants and rhinoceroses don't like gamba grass, but love the taste of the sugar cane.


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## GSXR_Boy (Feb 2, 2012)

Be interesting herping through the bush and stumbling across a bull elephant or Komodo. Not much chance of out running them lol.

Also Camel x Elephant hybrids?


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

Hahahahahahahahahaha, and they think Toads are a problem.


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## waruikazi (Feb 2, 2012)

I would have thought termites would consume far greater ammounts of grass than elephants.


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## KingSirloin (Feb 2, 2012)

Beard said:


> Hahahahahahahahahaha, and they think Toads are a problem.



At least they'd be able to find the elephants.


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

KingSirloin said:


> At least they'd be able to find the elephants.



True, but hit one with a golfclub and you'll be in for a world of hurt.


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## saximus (Feb 2, 2012)

Anyone read the book "The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" when they were young? For some reason this article makes me think of it...


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## El_Lagarto (Feb 2, 2012)

They could be controlled by commercial hunters...


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

El_Lagarto said:


> They could be controlled by commercial hunters...




Cue animal liberation......................


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## richoman_3 (Feb 2, 2012)

what the hell is wrong with this government :?
atleast we have mice to scare them off !


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## Klaery (Feb 2, 2012)

saximus said:


> Anyone read the book "The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" when they were young? For some reason this article makes me think of it...



Samesies. See my post above


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## saximus (Feb 2, 2012)

danielk said:


> Samesies. See my post above



Haha nice. I must have skimmed over that one on the first read


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## D3pro (Feb 2, 2012)

hahahaha.

Just add 3 more deadly animals to Australia's list. That will be great for tourists.







^ Somehow I think these will be more problematic then toads...


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## saximus (Feb 2, 2012)

Who knows, it could add a whole new level to the tourism industry. Australian Safaris...


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## MathewB (Feb 2, 2012)

Can someone tell me what introducing Komodo dragons would achieve, other then destroying our native animals and out competing our native monitors? But it would be cool seeing a Komodo and a Perentie going at it


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## Fuscus (Feb 2, 2012)

richoman_3 said:


> what the hell is wrong with this government :?


If you actually bothered to read the article you would see that it is a Tasmanian academic that suggests this, not the government.


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## Fuscus (Feb 2, 2012)

MathewB said:


> Can someone tell me what introducing Komodo dragons would achieve, other then destroying our native animals and out competing our native monitors?


Komodos Prey on water Buffaloes.


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

Fuscus said:


> If you actually bothered to read the article you would see that it is a Tasmanian academic that suggests this, not the government.



I bet his sister thought it was a fantastic idea


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## imported_Varanus (Feb 2, 2012)

Australia has had Komodos and Komodo sized monitors in the not to distant past that shared the environment with modern day monitor species. although they probably predated and scavanged other megafauna rather than today's cows and sheep (and people in cars)!

I recall Tim Flannery proposed something like this in his book "Future Eaters".


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## MathewB (Feb 2, 2012)

Fuscus said:


> Komodos Prey on water Buffaloes.



Oh, but I bet they wouldn't just eat the buffalo. Kinda like a certain toad that I know


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## dihsmaj (Feb 2, 2012)

They thought CANE TOADS would be a good idea to battle pests, but look where we are now.


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## richoman_3 (Feb 2, 2012)

dihsmaj said:


> They thought CANE TOADS would be a good idea to battle pests, but look where we are now.


we are still in australia


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## edstar (Feb 2, 2012)

Beard said:


> Hahahahahahahahahaha, and they think Toads are a problem.



Maybe they can train the elephants to stomp on the toads??


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## richoman_3 (Feb 2, 2012)

edstar said:


> Maybe they can train the elephants to stomp on the toads??


but than they will stomp on all our frogs aswell !


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## Ramsayi (Feb 2, 2012)

.


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## Aussie-Pride (Feb 2, 2012)

El_Lagarto said:


> They could be controlled by commercial hunters...



An elephant would laugh at my .308 time to upgrade to a .50cal


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## edstar (Feb 2, 2012)

richoman_3 said:


> but than they will stomp on all our frogs aswell !



that's why we TRAIN them which ones to stomp on


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

Ramsayi said:


> .



Well said old man.


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

Good luck getting a .50Cal. Have to settle with a .338Lap, though at about $14 a shot you'll wanna be cashed up.


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## waruikazi (Feb 2, 2012)

Beard said:


> Good luck getting a .50Cal. Have to settle with a .338Lap, though at about $14 a shot you'll wanna be cashed up.



Pffft! Go a 4 bore!


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## JasonL (Feb 2, 2012)

MathewB said:


> But it would be cool seeing a Komodo and a Perentie going at it


 ???? Perenties really don't get that big, they are long and skinny, certainly no match for a Komodo.


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## waruikazi (Feb 2, 2012)

JasonL said:


> ???? Perenties really don't get that big, they are long and skinny, certainly no match for a Komodo.



You miss-understand, he doesn't mean going at it. He means '_Going at it!_' *wink wink*


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## MathewB (Feb 2, 2012)

JasonL said:


> ???? Perenties really don't get that big, they are long and skinny, certainly no match for a Komodo.




What if the Komodo had no head or the Perentie attacked from above with another 5 or........ok


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

waruikazi said:


> You miss-understand, he doesn't mean going at it. He means '_Going at it!_' *wink wink*




Boom chicka wow wow..........................

Nothin like a lil Lizard porn, hey MathewB.


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## MathewB (Feb 2, 2012)

Beard said:


> Boom chicka wow wow..........................
> 
> Nothin like a lil Lizard porn, hey MathewB.




You tell me Beard hahaha


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## Beard (Feb 2, 2012)

Mate, its all good


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## Tildy (Feb 2, 2012)

Wow, another great idea from human beings as a collective. Cause we couldnt learn from the toads and the rabbits and the foxes, lets go larger! I am convinced. Too many humans thinking together = stupid.


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## PMyers (Feb 3, 2012)

Aussie-Pride said:


> An elephant would laugh at my .308 time to upgrade to a .50cal





Beard said:


> Good luck getting a .50Cal. Have to settle with a .338Lap, though at about $14 a shot you'll wanna be cashed up.



I saw a .416 single shot Steyr out at Browns Plains the other day... almost slipped on my own drool when I turned to leave. Still, .416 or not, with an elephant you'd wanna make that single shot count.


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## matt74 (Feb 3, 2012)

It'd certainly make the nations already dangerous roads more interesting. Imagine coming around a blind corner on the bruce hwy doing a dollar ten and finding a fully grown elephant standing on the road. I know what your last words would be....

WHAT THE FU...........


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## SteveNT (Feb 3, 2012)

Bowman is an idiot which he proved many times when he was defrauding research funds for his illogical, dimwitted and useless projects when he was based in Darwin. He has trotted this story out a dozen times over the last 20 tears whenever he needs some publicity (which he loves above all things). 

I first met him as the "Banteng cattle expert" when I was living on Cobourg Peninsula in Arnhem Land. I met up with the wild herds on a daily basis and invited him out, expecting to learn more about them. When he promptly identified a buffalo as a Banteng bull I knew something was wrong. After he accused me of endangering his life (I chased a 2 meter salty away from the dinghy while he stood 100 meters up the beach) we loaded him onto a plane and got rid of him.

His well funded research (using exclosures) proved that something (buffalo? samba deer? pigs? wallabies? timor ponies? or maybe even banteng cattle?) were eating certain plants on the coastal plains. What a croc, and an utter waste of rare research money.

Then there was the very expensive "fire prediction computer simulation" which did not factor in mission or gamba grass. Useless. After that he promptly disapeared as far as he could get from Darwin.

He is a clown. Nuff said.


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## JrFear (Feb 3, 2012)

lol interesting!
soon we will be hitting elephants with golf clubs in the future!


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## snakeg56 (Feb 3, 2012)

I think someone needs more medication


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## Mayo (Feb 3, 2012)

Medicate using a teaspoon of ricin (sp)


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