Livingstone Shire Council is asking residents and visitors to help protect sea turtles as nesting season begins on the Capricorn Coast, with up to 100 mother turtles expected to nest before March. Farnborough Beach is a key nesting site, and four-wheel-drive users are asked to keep off the dry sand near the dunes and drive on wet sand instead. Seven new signs were installed along the beach with Darumbal rangers. A young male turtle rescued from the beach in October is recovering at Quoin Island Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.
A red-bellied black snake came up through a toilet at a home in Rossmore, in Sydney's southwest, on Monday. Narellan Snake Catcher Daniel May was called to remove the roughly 1.5-metre snake. May said it had likely travelled through a sewer line before entering the bowl. He said he had never before dealt with a snake entering through a toilet. Rising spring temperatures are bringing snakes out of hibernation, and May urged households to keep yards tidy and to stay calm if a snake is spotted.
A turtle rescue at Peregian Beach has prompted a fresh call for residents to watch for vulnerable marine animals as nesting season approaches. Coolum and North Shore Coast Care has responded to four turtle rescues in the past four days. Coast Care's Lana Baskerville urged residents to report turtles needing help, including those that are injured or unwell. Residents are asked to watch for turtle tracks in the sand, which can show a turtle has come ashore to nest. Nesting season runs from November to April.
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Flying foxes are starving across New South Wales and Victoria, with rescuers reporting a surge in emaciated adults and skeletal pups. Grey-headed flying foxes, listed as vulnerable, face food shortages from the northern rivers to the south coast. Rescue organisations report increased callouts, with bats displaying unusual behaviour and many already dead. Experts attribute the crisis to habitat loss, dry winter conditions, and poor seasonal flowering.
Late presenter Richard Morecroft secretly kept an orphaned baby grey-headed flying fox inside his shirt while reading the NSW 7PM news in late 1987. He named the pup Archie and fostered it after completing a WIRES training course. Archie was later the subject of a 30-minute ABC documentary, Raising Archie. Morecroft died this week aged 70, after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
Wildlife carers across New South Wales say they have never seen so many flying foxes give birth to premature pups. Since late September, rescue groups have responded to more than 460 reports of malnourished grey-headed flying foxes. One volunteer group estimates about 95 per cent of premature pups will die in care. Volunteers say the cause of the starvation event is unknown, and an government department says temporary food shortages may be a factor but no cause is confirmed. Rescue groups have only about 40 volunteers available, and carers are feeding pups every two hours.
Wildcare Queanbeyan is monitoring whether a pool noodle barrier needs to go back up to keep new cygnets from being swept over the Queanbeyan River weir. The barrier worked in 2021 and is in storage. Bird coordinator Maryanne Gates says reinstalling it would require cooperation from Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and the SES, and some residents have raised concerns about the noodles contaminating the water. Gates urges members of the public to call Wildcare if they see a swan in trouble.
Hundreds of prematurely born flying foxes have died along the NSW east coast, with more deaths expected. Wildlife Rescue South Coast and WIRES veterinarians say starvation is the likely cause, linked to poor food availability. Investigations are ongoing to rule out other factors, such as toxins or diseases. The community is warned not to touch or feed the animals due to potential health risks.
