UK survival expert Ray Mears chases devils and tigers

UK survival expert Ray Mears has turned his attention to Australia, filming two segments here on our saltwater crocodile and the iconic Tasmanian devil, the second of which will air in the coming week in Britain. He also looks into some reports of the continuing existence of the Tasmanian Tiger.

The description of the show follows:

About a third of the remote island of Tasmanina and its stunning coastline is classified as National Park, and is mired in tales of prehistoric tigers, monster crayfish and screaming dervishes. Incredibly, these myths are, to some extent, true.

The Tasmanian devil was named after explorers heard its ferocious screams, but it is now on the precipice of extinction. Often represented as a night time terror, the devil is in fact a gregarious marsupial unique to the island. But its survival is threatened by a cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease, which has laid waste to the island’s population.

Ray meets the Anthony family who live in a wildlife sanctuary they built themselves. They are committed to safeguarding the future of the Tasmanian devil.

Owner, Wade says: “What we’re doing here is part of a larger programme, in an attempt to ensure the survival of the Tasmanian devil. In the wild we’ve lost around 80 per cent of the wild population through Devil Facial Tumour Disease. So whilst we’re trying to give people an accurate understanding of what these animals are, we’re also trying to build up the numbers in captivity. ”

Similar in appearance to a small bear, the devil is incredibly strong with immense jaw power.

Sadly extinction is not new to Tasmania’s unique wildlife. The island’s government and people were solely responsible for the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger just 77 years ago when groups of farmers fearing for their agriculture lobbied the government. As a result, the state paid £1 per head for every animal until they were no more.

Ray meets Kathryn Medlock, Senior Curator at the Tasmanian Museum to find out more about the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, Australia’s largest carnivorous marsupial.

Kathryn says: “It was a remarkable animal, it really looks like a dog or a wolf but very definitely a marsupial. It had a pouch, gave birth to young and reared it’s young in the mother’s pouch, it could have up to four young at a time.”

Despite their official extinction, Ray meets local people who firmly believe the tiger is still out there due to claims of sightings.

Doug Westbrook, co-proprietor of the Tiger Bar of Mole Creek says: “My wife arrived home, burst in the door…she looked like a ghost and she said, ‘I’ve just seen a tiger’. She saw this dog-like animal walking across, like it had a broken back. Because it’s a marsupial it doesn’t walk like a dog it walks like a kangaroo.”

The government takes sightings seriously enough to employ a government officer. Nick Mooney has worked for the Tasmanian government for 35 years.

Nick says: “There’s a very interesting twist to this whole thing in that with this devil disease we have less devils than in many, many decades in Tasmania and devils would be a problem for Thylacines. It would be very hard for a very rare Thylacine to raise pups where devils were very common. So you have your major competitor  drastically reduced in numbers, more wallabies in Tasmania than probably ever in history, still quite a bit of habitat. We should have Thylacines pouring out our ears.”

Whilst the clock is ticking for the future of the devil, Devil Facial Tumour Disease is a fairly new disease.

Veterinary scientist Ruth Pye says: “1996 was when it was first photographed in North-East Tasmania and its spread has been quite rapid. It’s always been fatal, usually six months, perhaps a bit longer. It’s a transmissible tumour, which is the most unusual characteristic of the disease, being a cancer that’s contagious. So what we’re trying to do is develop a vaccine, the ultimate goal.”

Ray is on hand as Ruth treats a young female devil called Elsie.

Ray says: “Nobody needs to be told how vicious cancer is, but seeing young Elsie here, I can’t help but think this is an unnecessarily cruel way for a species to die.”

Ray also gets up close to some of the other unique creatures that can be found on the island, including the Monster Crayfish, whose numbers are in fast decline due to pollution in rivers. They grow up to a metre in length and are the world’s biggest freshwater invertebrates, the male’s claws are so strong they could break your arm.

Ray also visits Western Tasmania to go in search of one of nature’s most elusive and ancient animals, the Platypus.

Ray says: “It’s really exciting, I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed, because I’ve never seen a platypus in the wild and for any naturalist, this is the possibility of a dream come true.”

At Trowunna Wildlife sanctuary in Mole Creek there’s a ‘devil retirement’ home. Sanctuary owner Androo Kelly has been working with insurance populations and zoo programmes all around the world ever since the Devil Facial Tumour Disease came to light. There is a theory that almost 15,000 years ago the devil’s genetic makeup changed and that’s what made them susceptible to catching the disease. Scientists are therefore working in an attempt to recreate the devil’s DNA before it changed, to see if it is possible to create a new blood line that is resistant to the disease.

Ray ends his journey on the stunning northern tip of the island, on a night-time exploration with wildlife biologists hoping to see a devil in the wild for himself, before it’s too late.

The episode airs on ITV in the UK on Wednesday, 24 July from 9pm-10pm.

OOPA: UK wallaby sighting delights and surprises

Well I’ll be! A wallaby who hopped its way down a farm track in Pluckley is now set to become a YouTube hit, according to Kent Online.A 14-second film clip was taken by village resident Alex Pooley who caught the cheeky creature on camera as she walked her dog Shackleton, two.
The 29-year-old said: “We were in a field near the train station and I saw what I thought was a giant hare, but then it moved and started hopping.

“I was a bit surprised to say the least and the dog was off the lead at the time and he went off to investigate. They ran around for a couple of minutes and then he came back and I put him on the lead.
“Then I saw it hopping down the path towards us. It seemed pretty friendly and quite intrigued because it came right up to us.”
Grabbing her mobile phone, teacher Alex managed to film the animal before it once again hopped off.
Wallabies are generally found in Australia though have been spotted in the UK including areas of Devon and East Sussex.
In 2009 a ghost hunting trip to Pluckley that ended up with a family being spooked by a wallaby (pictured above).

Mum Mandy Page took daughters Sophie and Lauren for a bit of spirit spotting in November. But instead of a headless horseman, they found a wallaby staring back at them.
The month before that, commuter Ula Griggs encountered a wallaby crossing the road. The stunned motorist saw it bounce across at Bell Lane, just outside Pluckley.
In 2005 a wallaby (pictured left) was hit by motorist Kate Scorey at the Texaco garage, A20 outside Lenham as she was driving home in the dark.
In September 2008, a wallaby was spotted on Magpie Hall Road in Stubbs Cross. It was believed to be Wesley, a wallaby that had escaped from a farm eight years before and was frequently glimpsed around the area.
The creatures have a life expectancy of about 18 years.

OOPA: Wallaby carnage in Woodchester UK

A mysterious blood-thirsty wild cat is feared to have struck again after three wallabies were found devoured on farmland in the Cotswolds area of the United Kingdom.

The trio were found stripped to the bone, with their internal organs neatly placed beside their bodies.

Examinations revealed they had suffered puncture wounds to the neck - consistent with a vicious attack by a panther-like creature.

Experts now believe the animals were devoured by the Wildcat of Woodchester which is already believed to have killed three times this month.

The mutilated bodies of three deer have been found in the past few weeks in countryside near Stroud, Gloucestershire -  just 12 miles from where the wallabies were mauled to death.

The wallabies were found only 12 miles apart leading to the belief that it was the same cat

Samples of DNA  from the predator's first deer kill on January 4 are currently being tested to confirm whether or not a big cat is behind the killings.

The results are expected to be revealed over the next few days.

But big cat expert Frank Tunbridge is in no doubt over who killed the wallabies and the deer.

Mr Tunbridge, 65, said: 'There could be no creature other than a big cat that could bring down and kill these wallabies.

'The field was surrounded by a 7ft fence and there was no apparent entry signs - so the predator must have leapt over it.

'The killer struck over two nights. The first night he killed two wallabies, stripped one of the carcasses down and hid the other under a pile of leaves and straw.

'Then he came back and killed a third - devouring his further kills. A fourth wallaby appears to have died from a heart attack.

'The wallabies are only about 12 miles from Woodchester so it appears that this could be the same big cat.

'They have all the hallmarks of a panther or puma kill.'

The wallabies, part of a private collection, were found by their devastated owner on January 6 - two days after the apparent first kill by the Wildcat of Woodchester.

The Gloucestershire farmer did not want to divulge his name or location.

But he did release gory pictures of one of the dead wallabies.

The carcass had been ripped open in a similar way to the three roe deers the beast is believed to have slayed.

The first deer had been torn open and was missing its heart, kidneys and liver.

Its snout was also missing - important because big cats clamp their jaws over the mouth, causing death by suffocation.

Experts believe the deer was brought down and devoured by a large and powerful predator such as a puma, jaguar or leopard.

Tufts of the animal’s fur were also found piled by the body - and such predators neatly pluck the hair from the body before shearing their teeth into the flesh.

Another deer carcass was found by a dog walker between Whiteway and Redcomb, near Cirencester - ten miles away - on January 10.

A third roe deer body was found at a development in Cooper’s Edge, near Gloucester, days later.

Dr Robin Allaby, an expert in evolutionary genetics at Warwick University’s School of Life Sciences, is studying samples of DNA taken from the first carcass.

He said: 'I’m prepared to believe in the existence of big cats in the UK and we have a reasonable chance of finding out if it was there.

'We are in the process of studying samples of DNA taken from the deer and if its death was the result of a big cat then we’re hoping it left cheek cells and saliva.'

Is this the culprit? A picture of a large black cat taken in the area.

Weird Weekend 2011 *update*

It's going to be phenomenal in every way - so if you're in the UK, there's no excuse to miss the Centre for Fortean Zoology's legendary Weird Weekend! Speaking for ourselves, we're trying very hard to win the lottery at the moment so we can drop everything and attend. Failing that, well...it just doesn't bear thinking about!

This press release has just been issued, highlighting the fantastic line-up of speakers:

"For one weekend a year the tiny North Devon village of Woolsery becomes the weirdest village in the land. The largest gathering of scholars of esoteric natural history in the English-speaking world, is set to take place in rural north Devon.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology’s annual conference, the Weird Weekend, will see speakers from all over the country gathering Woolsery to discuss their work and discoveries.

The Weird Weekend,held over the weekend of the 19-21st August, now in its 12 year is the largest convention of its kind. This year’s speakers include one of the world’s leading geneticists Professor Bryan Sykes. Professor Sykes will be speaking on the yeti and samples of hair he has tested. Continuing the theme, cryptozoologist Richard Freeman will be talking about the Centre for Fortean Zoology’s latest expedition that took them into the Garo Hills of northern India on the track of the yeti.

Last year at the convention scientists announced that hairs found in local woodland were those of a leopard. These findings were later confirmed by DNA analysis. A world exclusive this year comes from Dr Darren Naish from Portsmouth University and Max Blake from Bristol University who will produce conclusive proof that over 100 years ago there were still mystery cats in Devon.

Other speakers include Fortean researcher Matt Salusbury who has been on the track of pigmy elephants in India, entomologist Nick Wadham on giant spiders, cryptozoologist Adam Davies on the orang-pendek, the mystery ape of Sumatra, and Glen Vaudrey on the waterhorse, a sea serpent from Scottish legend.

As well as monstrous creatures, other esoteric subjects are covered. Former police officer John Hanson describes UFO cases reaching back to the 1940s.

Other subjects include Ronan Coghlan on the labours of Hercules, and Henry Hartley on Fortean aspects of the modern Mayans.

As well as a series of talks there will be stalls, workshops and events.

The Weird Weekend raises funds for village charities dealing with children and for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the only full time organization in the world dedicated to the investigation of mystery animals.

The Weird Weekend takes place from 19th-21st of August.

For further details visit http://www.weirdweekend.org or ring 01237 431413."

OOPA: Gotcha! Wallaby caught in the UK

CFZ US blogger Nick Redfern has a great post about an out of place animal - a wallaby - on the hop in Dorset in the UK. It's not the first British wallaby that's been featured on this blog (we featured a mother and joey bouncing around Cornwall last month) and no doubt it won't be the last.

As Nick relates, there are a number of interesting stories relative to how and why they are here - but nothing too mysterious. You can read his musings about OOPAs in general here.

This hapless macropod has however since been caught and is destined for a life in a wildlife park in Exminster, Devon.

OOPA: Wallaby with joey spotted in Cornwall

The UK's Telegraph newspaper has reported the discovery of an OOPA - out-of-place-animal - in Cornwall, in the country's west.

Homeowner Brian Nash, 39, provided the best possible proof of his claims that a wallaby was on the loose with a photograph of a mother macropod hopping around a neighbour's lawn with her joey tucked into her pouch.

It is believe the female mated with a male which escaped from a nearby farm in 2007 but was never re-captured. Experts say wallabies are "renowned" for being able to find each other in the wild and it is thought the pair have begun breeding.

The male escaped two years ago from Trevathan Farm near St Endellion.

Owner Mark Symons said: "We lost a male wallaby two years ago and wondered what happened to him. They are very tough creatures and will certainly still be alive.

"He is a healthy boy and will eat anything and would be more than capable of surviving for years yet.

"The chances are he found a mate, a female that also escaped from somewhere."

London's Grant Museum re-opens its doors

Anyone travelling to the UK should go out of their way to visit the Grant Museum of Zoology, a time capsule of more than 62,000 specimens of insects and animals, some of them extinct.

Sadly it was closed when we were in London last, as its custodians moved premises and used the opportunity to search through the extensive collection.

This month the Grant re-opens its doors and resumes hosting its interesting program of talks and other events during the year.

The museum began life in the 1820s, founded by zoologist Robert Grant. The collection was (and still is) used for teaching students at University College London.

Highlights include:

- (Recently rediscovered) Dodo bones. A member of the pigeon family, the Dodo was a flightless bird that has been extinct for some 300 years. The 'new' bones found during the move are pictured above.

- a Quagga skeleton. A Quagga is a kind of zebra that could once be found in South Africa. Sadly, this unique creature was hunted to extinction in the 1870s.

- a Tasmanian Tiger skeleton. Once found throughout Australia and New Guinea, this animal died out in the 1930s. It was once considered a pest and hunted heavily. When it was noticed that its numbers were fast dwindling, a law was passed to protect them, but by then it was too late.

Need we say more? Get thee to the Grant!

Natural History Museum: Behind the scenes

Australia's ABC TV is airing 'Museum of Life' on Tuesday, November 30 - a fascinating six-part program that steps behind the scenes at one of the world's most famous institutions: the Museum of Natural History in the UK.


What happens behind the scenes at the Museum? Why is it important to preserve the
70 million specimens in the collections and how relevant is the research of museum scientists to today’s challenges, like biodiversity loss and the spread of tropical diseases? The BBC documentary Museum of Life will answer these questions and many more.

The opening episode looks at some of the millions of specimens in the Museum's collections. They come in all shapes and sizes, and from many different countries, but how important are they today? Who has access to them, and what does the future hold for this impressive data source?

Museum of Life airs at 8.30pm on ABC TV, Tuesday, November 30.

More weird - a bug-tastic weekend all round

So were back in Australia now, jet-lagged and busy keeping an eye out for spiders after spending time with Bugfest's Nick Wadham and his eight-legged friends, and chatting with author Carl Portman about his interest in Australian arachnids.

While the Weird Weekend didn't start off as an entomological excursion for us, it certainly seemed to end up like one - helped along by Mike's passion for bitey bugs.

You'd think after two weeks away the place would be awash with large, nomadic Huntsmen spiders, but (thankfully, I say) the cold weather has kept them at bay and out of the loungeroom!

It's always exciting talking to people about their passions, and while I am no spider lover, even I came away with a new respect for the bigger spiders - especially the ones that live for 25-30 years (yes, really! A spider hater's nightmare!).

So spending time talking to Nick while he had a dinner plate-sized tarantula on his wrist (I admit, I was actually standing about five feet away) was a very different and, dare I say, fun experience. Mike is pictured above getting up close and personal with Nick and one of his giant hairy tarantulas (just after the tetchy tarantula lowered its front legs and relaxed its fangs).

Nick's business Bugfest is insect education, and he and his wife Kara exhibit their Insecta menagerie all across the UK.

They don't just have spiders of course - they also keep giant burrowing cockroaches (incidentally, one of the latest pet crazes), stick insects, moths and other creepy crawlies.

Bugfest is immensely popular with children and provided a nice counterpoint to much of the other material discussed and on display over the weekend.

We didn’t have nearly enough time to catch up with everyone we wanted to see in the UK, and of course not everyone could make it to the Weird Weekend in picturesque Woolsery in North Devon.

So our chat with Carl Portman, author of A Daintree Diary, was not nearly long enough, but his Weird Weekend presentation on the Australian Whistling Spider was funny and entertaining, and his passion for arachnids, and Australia, was not only obvious but inspiring.

Carl hopes to come back to Australia sometime soon, and we hope he does come and stay with us - we think we might have swayed him to return with the promise of finding Funnel Web Spiders in the Blue Mountains!

It’s funny to think what he viewed as a somewhat elusive quarry on his last visit Down Under is probably creeping around our garbage bins as I write this - a great example of how we can take things living right under our nose so for granted.

Putting the shoe on the other foot, our visit to the UK afforded us a glimpse of some indigenous wildlife that elicited plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’.

Our excellent hosts at Hilltop Holidays - Kaye, Roy, David, Ross and Greg Braund-Phillips - undertake wildlife rescue work, and have some interesting animals in their care, and frequenting their farm, including hedgehogs (did you know they hiss like snakes when they’re annoyed?), squirrels, barn owls and deer - and an impressive Harris Hawk named Mars!

But by far one of the most interesting menageries we glimpsed was within the walls of CFZ HQ itself, which boasts an array of aquatic and amphibious creatures that would delight any aquarist’s heart.

Oll Lewis guided us around various aquariums, terrariums and enclosures, pointing out giant cockroaches, livebearers, and eel-like amphibians and turtles with soft shells and red ears. Memorable stuff indeed, and enough to fire the imagination of any young budding naturalist.

Further afield we encountered numerous ‘badger sets’ - including within the hallowed grounds of Glastonbury Abbey!

Sadly the only badgers we saw during our trip were road kill (three in all).

Despite being protected, they are frequently killed by farmers, as they spread tuberculosis to livestock.

It was also exciting to get out into the British countryside and walk through some of the farm paddocks and forests of Devon and the Cotswolds.

Tune in for our UK big cat write-up - our brief but memorable taste of big cats in Britain.