roadkill

Brett Clifton sent these photographs of the late, much lamented "Bim-Bim", a siamese cat who was a great friend to baby kangaroos in Brett's care. This is also partly a response to a comment from a person who posted to this site this morning that she had just lost her great friend, Bessie, a dog, to roadkill. We have all shared such sadness for our friends from other species.

14 July 2007 - 11 August 2012: Those of you who were fortunate enough to know him know that Bim-Bim wasn't a kangaroo, but more of an honorary kangaroo, raised with them since he was a kitten. I am very sad to report that Bim-Bim was killed by a car in the early hours of yesterday morning on the very highway from which many of his friends were rescued. He escaped over the cat netting the night before. He is very sadly missed. He was buried yesterday with full kangaroo honours next to his old friend Pino in the sacred ground outside the kanga enclosure. (Brett Clifton.)

Photos (not necessarily in order of descent)

From K-a-Day - Day 81: Bim-Bim being groomed by Pino, October 2007.

From K-a-Day - Day 199: Bim-Bim with Pino in convalescence in front of the fire, August 2009

More recently on the water bed with Dolly, May 2011

Brett Clifton daily sends a new photo of kangaroos on and about his property to friends of the kangaroo people in his Kanga a Day series. This was A Kanga a Day - Day 1276.
Brett's website is brettclifton.com/Welcome.html.

The rate of road-kill of koalas in Queensland, NSW, and Victoria is testimony to the unsustainability of human population growth and the cowardice of our leaders in the face of profit-driven developer groups. We drive too fast, we are too numerous, and we have far too greater impact. Are most of us ignorant, selfish and callous or is it mainly our leaders and the developers they protect?

(Above) Yet another koala road accident victim. (Below) Ray and Murray Chambers return a koala to the wild. (Photograph from Sunshine Coast Koala Wildlife Rescue

Its all a little too late for the koalas, finally being listed as threatened and the rest of the world is waking up to the shame of what we have done.

Following a photographer from the BBC tagging along with the Sunshine Coast Koala Wildlife Rescue Service twin brothers, Ray & Murray Chambers, National Geographic Magazine included them in their feature in this month's issue, with photographs by one of the world's leading wildlife photographers, Joel Sartore.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/koala-rescue/sartore-photography#/04-koala-crusader-ray-chambers-670.jpg

http://www.joelsartore.com/galleries/koala-rescue/

The twin brothers today are laying three more of their beautiful koalas to rest and regardless of the heartbreak they endure each day, will not stop being on call 24/7 for their mates. Without this vital service, not just many koalas would be waiting to die on the sides of roads, but many other injured wildlife wouldnt be given a second chance.

We are currently negotiating with international documentary makers who have expressed interest in filming series on the incredible work these angels in footy shorts do without any financial assistance. A Sunshine Coast University Journalism student Sean Fabre-Simmons has also been chosen from a number of applicants to ride shotgun on some of their rescues, armed with a state of the art camera to post online the sickening scenes we are called to for the world to see.

For the Animals

Jaylene Musgrave
Vegan Warriors

Media Manager, Sunshine Coast Koala Wildlife Rescue Service
http://www.veganwarriors.com.au.
http://www.sckoalarescue.com.au
Join Me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Nominee "Pride of Australia Medal" 2011 & "Australian of the Year Medal 2012"

'It may be tempting to believe our 4WD has bumped over a wombat.' (from an article in a magazine)

Tempting?

Roadkill is driving some species towards extinction. Too few safe corridors for animals to find more food. Too many cars and trucks on many more roads through their habitats.

How about a campaign to stop carelessness about road-kill? This could encompass:

1. More careful night-driving. through countrysides and slower diving through bushland could prevent so many deaths and so many orphaned creatures that other people may then try to save, or don't.

2. Invention. Can a form of warning that is effective in warning for animals up to four minutes ahead of the coming killing-machine be invented for use by cars and trucks in places and at times that creatures are liable to be hit. Headlights can simply paralyse them in the middle of the road.

3. Safe crossing tunnels and overheads which are used in some countries. These should be build in places where many small animals get run over.

4. A British man eats road-kill as his way of preventing waste.

5. Raise awareness. It would be interesting to know how many drivers know they have driven over animals. The Royal Australian Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) could ask its members. Let's have some idea of the grim tally.

What are people feeling is their own greatest collective guilt? There's a lot of it around. Trillions are spent on weapons of horrible destruction – even by the 'goodies?

Universal Guilt Day – making a real Day of Atonement - followed by ? Could we have a Peace and Saving Museum?

See also:

1. "Tassie's roadkill carnage" by Michelle Paine in teh Hobart Mercury of 21 Nov 08.

NEARLY 300,000 animals are killed on Tasmanian roads every year. Among them, 4000 Tasmanian devils -- about 5 per cent of a population already being dying from an infectious cancer.

"Pretty much everything that lives in Tasmania, we've seen dead on the road," said scientist Alistair Hobday, who has compiled the figures in one of the most extensive roadkill studies in the world.

"Of that, 70 per cent are hit in roadkill blackspots, which only exist on small sections of the road."

2. roadkill.wilddiscovery.com.au/ "Wild Discovery Guides - Australian Wildlife RoadKill, A Wild Discovery Guide" with Len Zell.

Wild Discovery PO Box 1696 Townsville Qld 4810 ISBN 0-9757184-3-6 RRP: A$19.95. The description is:

Roadkill was shortlisted for the 2007 Whitley Award for significant contribution to Australian zoology. This is the essential 'in-car' book for any road traveller in Australia. With about one million kilometres of road, anyone travelling them is, sadly, very likely to see or cause roadkill - certainly of the millions of small bugs that will be hit.This book provides an overview of the types of roadkill, hints on what to do with them, how to clean bugs off the car and an eclectic mix of other information - from road safety to recipes. In addition the book gives an unusual insight into the many aspects of Australia's very special fauna, albeit in a somewhat macabre way.More than 200 photographs of roadkill all some identification and an excellent guide on how to avoid and observe roadkill and who to send interesting specimens to.

3. Macabre ‘humour' at www.wwwildcats.com/abz.htm

.

Due to the creative genius of one Charlie Conroy whom we proudly claim as one of our own, we are excited to announce a world first, the ABZ of ROADKILL. This is a photographic competition open to all bikers worldwide, it is designed to utilise something that would otherwise just lie around going to waste, and is currently regarded just as something to stay upwind of and to avoid hitting when it is lying in the middle of the road. This comp is aimed as a small way of making their sacrifice worthwhile and at the same time offending the general population. Both worthy aspirations of any genuine bikers!

4. Ten minutes on Google can find you a whole lot of insensitive things done and thought about roadkill.