Feral peacocks to be purged from Narrabundah

dungfungus said :

Seriously, why not relocate them to the arboretum?
Anyone who has visited The Gorge in Launceston would recall the free roaming peacocks in the mature gardens there. Kids are usually facsinated by them. They wouldn’t look out of place with all the exotic trees there.

This seems like a really good idea. Perhaps they could be desexed? Failing that, I expect there’s plenty of properties and places around Canberra and beyond who would take them. They’re not cheap to buy.

beardedclam said :

Maybe eventualy we could have 100 cocks in 100 forests……..

Sounds like a hippie Fifty Shades of Grey.

(Which, of course, I have not read.)

I wonder if this program will be a cock up!

Maybe eventualy we could have 100 cocks in 100 forests……..

sarahblaec said :

The TAMS media release says ““It is not possible to relocate them in the Canberra region as this may simply transfer the problem more broadly across the ACT” although they may not have considered establishing the group as a new captive population – I guess it can’t hurt to ask.

On the plus side though, while they’ve not indicated what they intend to do with the remaining 10-or-so birds, the 20 they’re trapping are heading off to a new home at Taronga Zoo which is a really good outcome.

TAMS can cull native kangaroos when they have to so why not some feral peacocks?
Aren’t they undertaking a rabbit control program currently? Instead of “transferring the problem across the ACT” it would localise them if they were re-located to the arboretum and the tourists could feed them (for a fee) so why would they want to go anywhere else? The arboretum is already home to quite a few feral hares and foxes; the peacocks will add diversity.

The TAMS media release says ““It is not possible to relocate them in the Canberra region as this may simply transfer the problem more broadly across the ACT” although they may not have considered establishing the group as a new captive population – I guess it can’t hurt to ask.

On the plus side though, while they’ve not indicated what they intend to do with the remaining 10-or-so birds, the 20 they’re trapping are heading off to a new home at Taronga Zoo which is a really good outcome.

johnboy said :

You can be sure TAMS will be reading. But an email to Shane Rattenbury should do it!

I was going to suggest an email to John Mackay but…………………….

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

I have never even heard of this. Amazing. There are photos of me as a young child in the 80s at the old zoo next to these birds or offspring(not sure how they age) but I remember absolutely loving the peacocks as a child.

And what a great idea about moving them to the arbotirium. Is there any way to suggest this to tams?

You could try and phone the person who made the press release (go to link on RA article).
Also, do a Google images of “peacocks at Cataract Gorge”.

I have never even heard of this. Amazing. There are photos of me as a young child in the 80s at the old zoo next to these birds or offspring(not sure how they age) but I remember absolutely loving the peacocks as a child.

And what a great idea about moving them to the arbotirium. Is there any way to suggest this to tams?

well there ya go…thanks #4 and #5….they never come to barton!

Seriously, why not relocate them to the arboretum?
Anyone who has visited The Gorge in Launceston would recall the free roaming peacocks in the mature gardens there. Kids are usually facsinated by them. They wouldn’t look out of place with all the exotic trees there.

While it’s ‘sad’ that these animals are being appropriately controlled (as it’s not the animals’ fault they have been introduced into an ecosystem-modified or otherwise-that is unsuitable), what would be far ‘sadder’ is if they continued to grow in unsustainable populations and consequently starved, got involved in traffic incidents, got menaced by urban dogs, and some of the other horrid plights that would likely result from lack of control and burgeoning numbers. TAMS is taking a sensible approach. What would you expect them to do? Traumatise the things by translocating them?

Blen_Carmichael said :

Narrabundah? I thought Jon Stanhope was on Christmas Island.

When i think of Stanhope there’s not a pea to be seen anywhere unless of course one is referring to the grey matter.

Narrabundah? I thought Jon Stanhope was on Christmas Island.

zorro29 said :

we have wild peacocks in the inner south? i have never seen one…

Yep, peacocks in the inner south, and a lengthy list of other feral species Australia-wide. There are a lot of unexpectedly exotic animals that have established populations in Australia too, as escapees from zoos/circuses etc (like the peacocks), through accidental transfer in cargo (like the Pacific house gecko), or the escape/release of animals originally kept as pets (eg ferrets, red-eared slider turtles). It’s pretty scary.

zorro29 said :

we have wild peacocks in the inner south? i have never seen one…

They tend to congregate at the top of Carnegie/Brockman/Wylie.

we have wild peacocks in the inner south? i have never seen one…

I support the efforts to remove these birds from Narrabundah (as beautiful as they are, they don’t belong there), but if I read the TAMS announcement correctly, they estimate that there are around 30 birds, but they’re only going to relocate “up to” 20 to Taronga Zoo. What happens to the remainder? Are they just hoping that the population will be driven below sustainable levels or are there likely to be further efforts to trap the rest of the birds in the near future?