Something's wrong with the marsupials in my area.

[warrior queen]

I'm not sure what's going on, but all of the nocturnal marsupials (wombats, wallabies, possums, etc) here have for the last few weeks been staying out in daylight.
And they're not looking too crash-hot either - all ratty and scruffy, and pretty docile.
Also, a lot of unexplained deaths.


I haven't seen any information about what might be happening so I think I may have to ring the wildlife people about this.
Highly unusual for them to come so close too.

This one is on my lawn about 10 feet away from me...

 

[lovetoread]

Rabies?

 

[warrior queen]

Rabies?

No, we have no rabies in Tasmania.
I've been puzzling over this for a while. The wallaby in the picture has been on my lawn for the last 2 hours and is slowing down a lot, so I think he may be dying too
My pit is filled with them

 

[fluffPE]

No, we have no rabies in Tasmania.
I've been puzzling over this for a while. The wallaby in the picture has been on my lawn for the last 2 hours and is slowing down a lot, so I think he may be dying too
My pit is filled with them

I hate when that happens!

 

[warrior queen]

He's moved maybe 30 feet in the last hour.

 

[warrior queen]

I hate when that happens!

lol - I have a deep hole down the bottom of the home paddock that we bury the carcasses of dead animals in and cover up as we go.
Normally, this time of year there might be one or two sheep a month, but for the last couple of days I have had to bury at least 15 different marsupials every day.
This is not normal.

 

[fluffPE]

lol - I have a deep hole down the bottom of the home paddock that we bury the carcasses of dead animals in and cover up as we go.
Normally, this time of year there might be one or two sheep a month, but for the last couple of days I have had to bury at least 15 different marsupials every day.
This is not normal.

Sheep? This sounds bad! 15 a day? I know, not all sheep.

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

Looks like a classic case of bullshit overexposure.

 

[warrior queen]

Sheep? This sounds bad! 15 a day? I know, not all sheep.

No, it's not bad.
I have allowed a portion of my sheep to age gracefully, and they are now all getting to the end of their days.
They're all too old to breed or shear now, but they keep the firebreaks clean so I decided to let them live out their days rather than sell them.
I have 7 left, but they'll all die within the year as they're all the same age.

 

[LadyVer]

Sounds weird.

 

[warrior queen]

Looks like a classic case of bullshit overexposure.

Can't be, as the two bulls are kept completely separate to the other animals

 

[warrior queen]

Sounds weird.

It is.
This has not happened before that I know of.
And we are a chemical-free farm, so unless they're exposed on a neighbours property and then coming back here, it can't be that either.

Very strange.

 

[Sean Renaud]

It's probably that they are marsupials. It really is an inferior way of reproduction. Has anybody been dumping leaflets explaining what happened to marsupials everywhere else on the planet?

 

[warrior queen]

He's managed to squeeze himself under the fence and out into the paddock, but he's just sitting there.
Head down, not eating.

 

[1sickbastard]

I'm not sure what's going on, but all of the nocturnal marsupials (wombats, wallabies, possums, etc) here have for the last few weeks been staying out in daylight.
And they're not looking too crash-hot either - all ratty and scruffy, and pretty docile.
Also, a lot of unexplained deaths.


I haven't seen any information about what might be happening so I think I may have to ring the wildlife people about this.
Highly unusual for them to come so close too.

This one is on my lawn about 10 feet away from me...

Contaminated ground water? I just read there's a fair bit of heavy metal and bacterial contaminates in parts of the state.

 

[warrior queen]

Contaminated ground water? I just read there's a fair bit of heavy metal and bacterial contaminates in parts of the state.

Yeah, I considered that.
But on the gov't water site it shows my part of the state to be ok - this area has always been farmed. Not mined or anything like that.
Most of the properties around here are spring-fed, so we don't rely on run-off.

 

[IndieSnob]

Quick, diagnose them with leukemia before someone does a biopsy on them!

 

[warrior queen]

Quick, diagnose them with leukemia before someone does a biopsy on them!

Sometimes, the level of stupid and snark on lit shocks me.
But not today. And not from you.

 

[1sickbastard]

Yeah, I considered that.
But on the gov't water site it shows my part of the state to be ok - this area has always been farmed. Not mined or anything like that.
Most of the properties around here are spring-fed, so we don't rely on run-off.

What has your local counsel issued alerts about?

 

[CHNOPS]

Maybe he was trying to find the shed full of classic cars and got too tired to go on.

 

[KingOrfeo]

No, we have no rabies in Tasmania.
I've been puzzling over this for a while. The wallaby in the picture has been on my lawn for the last 2 hours and is slowing down a lot, so I think he may be dying too
My pit is filled with them

Is it possibly just the heat? Or something to do with your recent forest fires?

 

[IndieSnob]

Maybe he was trying to find the shed full of classic cars and got too tired to go on.

Sometimes the level of astuteness and good cheer on lit doesn't surprise me.
But today, oh you!

 

[warrior queen]

What has your local counsel issued alerts about?

There haven't been any.

 

[warrior queen]

Is it possibly just the heat? Or something to do with your recent forest fires?

I really don't know. Could be.
This area hasn't had a fire like the recent one for a quarter of a century - so it might have something to do with that.
I am going down to see one of the real old-timers today. I'll ask him about it.

 

[warrior queen]

Maybe he was trying to find the shed full of classic cars and got too tired to go on.

Ha! He'd only find one atm.
They've been shipped off to various workshops for painting and upholstery work.
The shed is bare! (Well, apart from loads of spare parts and engines anyway.)