13 January 2010
Alice Springs residents have been treated to an unusual sight - a camel-drawn, solar-powered mini-van travelling along the Todd River.
Only a trickle is left in the river, whcih began flowing for the first time in a year last Thursday, and peaked at 2.85 metres at the weekend.
Klaus Menzel, 61, has been on the road with his camels Snowy and Willy for eight years and says he is enjoying the desert's wet conditions.
"It is good to have but it is hard to pull through," he said.
"Willy was with me over at Camels Corner but then Snowy his partner came from Queensland.
"We walked 14 wild ones up to Queensland and as a reward I got these two fellas and they been pulling me around ever since."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/13/2791504.htm
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Friday, 8 January 2010
Disturbing spread of invasive bees
STEVE GRAY
January 8, 2010 - 6:13AM
A bee that has caused untold harm overseas is causing grave concern after it was found on the rich Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in far north Queensland.
Two swarms of Asian honey bees have been located on the Tableland, the latest near Lake Eacham.
It is not the bees themselves that are causing great concern, but the fact they can host the varroa mite.
These mites attack European honey bees and the hives sicken and eventually die.
No country has yet been able to eradicate these honey bees or the mites once they've become established.
Quarantine authorities managed to contain and destroy an incursion of Asian honey bees into Darwin in 1998.
Asian honey bees were first detected at the port of Cairns in May, 2007 and while none of the 41 colonies located and destroyed thus far have carried the mite, it may only be a matter of time before varroa mites invade the continent.
Australia is considered the last bastion against the mite which has devastated commercial honey production in the United States and Papua New Guinea.
Biosecurity Queensland's Asian honey bee eradication co-ordinator Charlotte Greer said while Cairns was home to few bee hives, there were many on the Atherton Tableland, adding to the risk the exotic bees could bring.
While the risk from the varroa mite to Australia's $75 million honey and beeswax industry is obvious, it pales into insignificance against bees' value in pollinating plants, estimated to be between $4 billion and $6 billion, according to a House of Representatives report.
Ms Greer said authorities were nonplussed that swarms were appearing on the Atherton Tableland up to 50 kilometres from the coastal areas around Cairns.
A swarm was found near Mareeba in August and another was spotted by an alert local at Lake Eacham this week.
"It's so far away from everything, that's the shock to us," Ms Greer said.
"We're just scratching our heads as to how the bloody hell it got there, but we're very keen to find out."
She said an "uninformed hobbyist" may have inadvertently moved the bees or a swarm may have escaped from a shipping container during transport.
Far north Queenslanders are being asked to check their properties for signs of the invaders.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/disturbing-spread-of-invasive-bees-20100108-lx3k.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)
January 8, 2010 - 6:13AM
A bee that has caused untold harm overseas is causing grave concern after it was found on the rich Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in far north Queensland.
Two swarms of Asian honey bees have been located on the Tableland, the latest near Lake Eacham.
It is not the bees themselves that are causing great concern, but the fact they can host the varroa mite.
These mites attack European honey bees and the hives sicken and eventually die.
No country has yet been able to eradicate these honey bees or the mites once they've become established.
Quarantine authorities managed to contain and destroy an incursion of Asian honey bees into Darwin in 1998.
Asian honey bees were first detected at the port of Cairns in May, 2007 and while none of the 41 colonies located and destroyed thus far have carried the mite, it may only be a matter of time before varroa mites invade the continent.
Australia is considered the last bastion against the mite which has devastated commercial honey production in the United States and Papua New Guinea.
Biosecurity Queensland's Asian honey bee eradication co-ordinator Charlotte Greer said while Cairns was home to few bee hives, there were many on the Atherton Tableland, adding to the risk the exotic bees could bring.
While the risk from the varroa mite to Australia's $75 million honey and beeswax industry is obvious, it pales into insignificance against bees' value in pollinating plants, estimated to be between $4 billion and $6 billion, according to a House of Representatives report.
Ms Greer said authorities were nonplussed that swarms were appearing on the Atherton Tableland up to 50 kilometres from the coastal areas around Cairns.
A swarm was found near Mareeba in August and another was spotted by an alert local at Lake Eacham this week.
"It's so far away from everything, that's the shock to us," Ms Greer said.
"We're just scratching our heads as to how the bloody hell it got there, but we're very keen to find out."
She said an "uninformed hobbyist" may have inadvertently moved the bees or a swarm may have escaped from a shipping container during transport.
Far north Queenslanders are being asked to check their properties for signs of the invaders.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/disturbing-spread-of-invasive-bees-20100108-lx3k.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)
Thursday, 7 January 2010
'The bat swooped down and bit each of the men'
DANIEL HURST
January 6, 2010
There are fears for three men bitten by a bat infected with the potentially deadly lyssavirus in central Queensland on Tuesday.
The animal has tested positive to the Australian bat lyssavirus, which can cause serious illness in humans and has killed two people since it was identified in 1996.
The men were all attacked by the 'little red flying fox' while walking separately along a track at Joseph Banks Conservation Park near the Township of 1770, south of Gladstone.
Australian bat lyssavirus is one of seven types of lyssavirus which are found around the world, according to a Queensland Health fact file.
Another type of lyssavirus is the potentially fatal rabies.
The men - two of whom were visitors to the area - have returned to their homes in Ipswich, Hervey Bay and Agnes Water while a course of post-exposure prophylactic treatment and counselling are arranged.
''The bat swooped down and bit each of the men on the head or ears,'' acting chief health officer Christine Selvey told reporters.
"There is a risk the virus can be transmitted to humans, however we have a very highly effective treatment regime.
"If it's not correctly treated then the virus can spread along the nerves to the brain which causes an infection of the brain which would be fatal.''
The bat was killed by the third victim and then taken to Queensland Health's Coopers Plains lab for testing.
Biosecurity Queensland's principal veterinary scientist Janine Barrett said the Australian bat lyssavirus was carried by less than one per cent of the bat population, and passed on from animal to animal by scratching or biting.
Queensland Health figures show five bats tested positive to Australian bat lyssavirus last year.
Dr Selvey said the only two known cases of Australian bat lyssavirus in humans were in the 1990s.
Both were fatal.
''Since then we have introduced routine prophylaxis for bat bites and scratches and there have been no further cases,'' she said.
Anyone attacked by a bat is urged to contact medical authorities.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/the-bat-swooped-down-and-bit-each-of-the-men-20100106-lu3f.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)
January 6, 2010
There are fears for three men bitten by a bat infected with the potentially deadly lyssavirus in central Queensland on Tuesday.
The animal has tested positive to the Australian bat lyssavirus, which can cause serious illness in humans and has killed two people since it was identified in 1996.
The men were all attacked by the 'little red flying fox' while walking separately along a track at Joseph Banks Conservation Park near the Township of 1770, south of Gladstone.
Australian bat lyssavirus is one of seven types of lyssavirus which are found around the world, according to a Queensland Health fact file.
Another type of lyssavirus is the potentially fatal rabies.
The men - two of whom were visitors to the area - have returned to their homes in Ipswich, Hervey Bay and Agnes Water while a course of post-exposure prophylactic treatment and counselling are arranged.
''The bat swooped down and bit each of the men on the head or ears,'' acting chief health officer Christine Selvey told reporters.
"There is a risk the virus can be transmitted to humans, however we have a very highly effective treatment regime.
"If it's not correctly treated then the virus can spread along the nerves to the brain which causes an infection of the brain which would be fatal.''
The bat was killed by the third victim and then taken to Queensland Health's Coopers Plains lab for testing.
Biosecurity Queensland's principal veterinary scientist Janine Barrett said the Australian bat lyssavirus was carried by less than one per cent of the bat population, and passed on from animal to animal by scratching or biting.
Queensland Health figures show five bats tested positive to Australian bat lyssavirus last year.
Dr Selvey said the only two known cases of Australian bat lyssavirus in humans were in the 1990s.
Both were fatal.
''Since then we have introduced routine prophylaxis for bat bites and scratches and there have been no further cases,'' she said.
Anyone attacked by a bat is urged to contact medical authorities.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/the-bat-swooped-down-and-bit-each-of-the-men-20100106-lu3f.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)
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