I have always been interested in training animals and have worked with trained animals most of my life, mostly for film and TV rather than the more worthy cause of conservation – a few items below including a world first in Queensland are about just what animals can do and how trained ones can help us all… I sure do envy the trainers doing such a good job.

The Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae) mutilate the birds as well by tearing off flight feather to further immobilise them. They were observed doing this just before their chicks hatched, maybe ensuring they have some extra fresh food for their young.

Some falcons are already known to store or 'larder' dead prey, but Professor Abdeljebbar Qninba of Mohammed V de Rabat University said, "this (live stashing) behaviour has never been reported before".

Eleonora’s falcon breeds on Mediterranean islands particularly off Greece but also in countries like Spain, Italy, Morocco and Algeria. Raptors like eagles and hawks often use seemingly brutal methods to secure a meal – flying high and then dropping prey such as tortoises or snakes onto rocks to kill them and even dragging goats off cliff edges.

Unauthorised drones can be a safety hazard for crowds, ambulance helicopters and aircraft. When drones are a deemed problem the solution is often to use other drones that shoot nets to bring down the threat.

However, this is an innovative approach by the Dutch National Police in the Netherlands. The birds just swoop in and grab the drones before bringing them to the ground.

More at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-02/eagles-vs-drones-dutch-police-train-birds-to-take-down-uavs/7132096

Originally found in South America, the Fire ants can cause devastating impact on native species with Queensland predicting declines of 45% of birds, 38% of mammals, 69% of reptiles and 95% of frogs.

Fire ant colonies are huge and vast numbers of ants can swarm and attack when disturbed. They bite (to hold on) then sting, and the venom can cause intense pain and sometimes anaphylactic shock.

They affect people, pets and livestock and cause great impact on agriculture. Each ant species has its own particular pheromone and dogs can be trained to smell and target just one species rather than just any ant out there.

Willow and a team of 8 other trained dogs are part of the National Red Imported Fire Ants Eradication Program and as a result Gladstone in Queensland is now nearly rid of all Fire ants.

Once Gladstone is cleared, their work will continue down in Brisbane – trained dogs I truly think are an underutilised weapon against invasive pests and could potentially be trained to track down many, many other pests when government finds the funding.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-03/sniffer-dogs-unleash-blow-to-gladstone-fire-ants/7135452

Phone orders only – just call and pay by credit card or bank transfer. Same day dispatch is our target otherwise usually within 24hrs.

Alternatively, pickup can be arranged from our Malaga office. Carriage FREE country wide on orders over $500.

Come along to NAR on Thursday 25 February at 6pm to learn about some of the worlds 3,000 snakes. I am presenting a 45minute talk titled "Snakes" – also get to meet a range of friendly pythons and see some deadly snakes as well.

A $15 door fee is payable to help support NAR wildlife rehabilitation, $10 for NAR members, and $5 for NAR volunteers.

In Kenya alone Rhino numbers dropped from 200,000 to around 200, now they have recovered a bit back up to the 600 odd mark but poachers are still out there and the horn more valuable than ever. So what can be done to protect them from extinction?

We all know this irritating pest; it’s capable of spreading many pathogens including both salmonella and shigella bacteria (both cause the dreaded gastro) especially in agricultural areas. The Bush flies don’t bite, but crawl around any open wound as well as our faces; they enter mouths and nostrils and have us waving away to keep them off. They are drawn to the moisture and protein therein; it’s really the females seeking the protein to help with their fertility and the males that follow seeking the females, apparently (someone has studied this) at a ratio of about 3 females to every male. Usually rather than your face the Bush flies prefer lovely fresh protein rich mammalian dung hence the capacity to spread disease.

Numbers have expanded hugely since the white settlement, as we brought bigger animals like cows, horses and pigs with us that have bigger poohs – the flies must have celebrated our arrival on the continent as previously they had only Kangaroo faeces and the like that were A. smaller and B. dried up quickly. Witsen in his account of a Dutch expeditionary visit to Western Australia in 1696 wrote: "millions of flies, very much troubling the men". With the arrival of cattle those millions soon became many billions.

In subtropical Australia they breed continuously, they repopulate many areas in Australia and Tasmania through migration and many thousands are borne on winds carrying them far and wide. When conditions are favourable (spring) they seek fresh dung to lay their eggs - the larvae (maggots) feed on this and thus renew the lifecycle. Apparently a moist but not sloppy cowpat is the ideal environment for the developing young. Numerous species of dung beetle have been introduced to Australia to help bury the available dung and deprive the Bush flies of its favoured real estate.

Australia is home to many species of fly but the Australian Bush fly is probably the most annoying of them all.