Hopping mad over cane toad study cut

[Fuscus]

A bounty would help but is not the full solution.

 

[Magpie]

mean hell, domesticate them if need be....why not start breeding Quolls to replace cats.

You've obviously never dealt closely with quolls. Their mouths are half the length of their heads and their teeth are about 3/4" long and razor sharp. They can weigh over 10kg and are solid muscle. They can crack lamb bones with a single bite. They also stink.

 

[Fuscus]

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/1999/archives/25/pets,_pet_care,_backyard_&_native_animals/quolls
The last sentence is the most interesting, I heard that they have 70 breeding pairs.

 

[Fuscus]

And the same minister who cuts the quoll program then says this
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1183967.htm
It does not increase my faith in pollies.

 

[Sdaji]

You've obviously never dealt closely with quolls. Their mouths are half the length of their heads and their teeth are about 3/4" long and razor sharp. They can weigh over 10kg and are solid muscle. They can crack lamb bones with a single bite. They also stink.

Most quolls are smaller than cats aren't they? The northern quoll (the one we've been discussing) is very much smaller than a cat. Crack limb bones in a single bite? I don't know where that story came from, unless you're talking about mouse bones or something. I've spoken to a couple of people who've raised quolls and they've been friendly, much like domestic cats. Actually,on the topic of cane toads and quolls, there is footage in the well known cane toad doco (compulsory viewing for any Australian interested in any facet of vertebrate zoology) of a guy being interviewed about his pet quoll which was extremely tame before being killed by a toad. No, this in itself isn't too convincing, just thought I'd mention it. I saw the colony at little river in Victoria (owned by earth sanctuaries), they have a heap of them there. I can't recall the species (they aren't northern quolls, must have been tiger or spotted).

Also, I've taken bites from several snakes over 10ft in length, among other things, but the worst bite I've ever taken, perhaps including a 4 vials of antivenom-requiring tiger snake bite and all other venomous bites was from a domesticated cat, that bite (actually, a rapid series of bites) was unprovoked, the teeth passing right through my hand in several places. I won't bother to mention the damage that dogs' bites can do, but suffice to say that the potential to bite doesn't make a species unsuitable as a pet, even one that will be cuddled etc.

 

[Hickson]

Mike Archer, Director of the Australian Museum, had a tame Chuditch (Western Quoll) years ago when he worked in Perth. He said it was the tamest most affectionate animal he had ever owned and was suggesting to politicians back then, that these animals be made pets. The cute and cuddliness of a cat without the aloofness or wanderlust. Apparently it loved being on people's shoulders.

The suggestion that more of our native mammals be made available as pets has been around for a while - often greeted with derision by idiots. The idea is that the more natives are being kept, the less cats and dogs will be kept, which will be - ultimately - better for the environment. And as Craig has already pointed out, make something commercially valuable and people/business rush to get involved and protect the resource (from an investment perspective). Just look at the story of the Saltwater Crocodile.

Just an aside re the pet issue: Sugar Gliders are such popular pets in the States that most, if not all, of the books on keeping them are written in the USA. There are even "Caring for your Pet Sugar Glider" videos. I know you can keep them in South Australia, but I don't know about other States, or how popular they are there. It would seem a shame if the Yanks were leading the way in that field.



Hix

 

[Sdaji]

We can keep them (sugar gliders) down here in Vic, Hix. They're rapidly increasing in popularity, which is really wonderful to see. Hopefully at some stage we'll even catch up to the USA with our own animals!