Faunal emblem for the ACT

[John Harris <>]

We can discuss and pontificate all we like, but just because we are bird enthusiast and, by extension, people generally interested in Australian wild life, we cannot change political reality. The States have a floral emblem, a bird emblem and a mammal emblem. A couple have a fish emblem. This discussion, which actually began some months ago in a more public arena, is actually about following the rest of Australia and havingat least  three emblems, flower, bird and mammal. The Corroboree frog is a wonderful creature but it does not fit the categories that we have inherited from the past. Of course we can have an amphibious emblem if we wish but nobody else does. We could also  have an insect and a reptile and a crustacean but that is not the point. If we want to follow tradition we need, like the states, to have a mammalian emblem. Hard to pick one of course as we are a small excision from a larger state but we could at least pick a mammal whose most natural habitat is around here – ACT, South NSW and North Vic.  The spotted Quoll sounds good. The platypus has already been taken and is widespread anyway. The echidna has not been taken but is even more widespread than the platypus. Let’s suggest the Quoll to whoever makes these decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

From: Con Boekel <>
Date: Wednesday, 13 December 2017 at 5:27 pm
To: chatline <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Faunal emblem for the ACT

 

Perhaps we need a paradigm shift?

What about nematodes?

 

On 12/13/2017 4:34 PM, Julian Robinson wrote:

The Corroboree Frog would be a gift to government graphic designers!

 

There’s a negative to choosing the frog though.  There may be a reason that the government is thinking of a mammal rather than animal, because it would not displace the Gang-gang.  We would have a floral emblem, a mammal emblem and a bird emblem. 

 

On the other hand, if went for the graphogenic frog we could then only reasonably sustain a floral and a single faunal emblem – it’s hard to justify an avian emblem if there is also something else described as our  “animal (faunal) emblem”.  But floral, mammal and avian still make some kind of sense and the Gang-gang could stay.

 

If it does have to be a mammal, I like Steve’s suggestion – the Spotted Quoll.  While endangered there are still a few around in the wild, which is more than can be said for the Bettong.  (And choosing a macropod is just boring since graphically, iconically and in many people’s minds all macropods look/are the same). The Quoll is distinctive and worthy of the attention for other reasons. Barr’s press release says  “Choosing an animal such as the eastern bettong or the brush-tail rock wallaby will likely bring conservation benefits, by raising awareness to help ensure its survival into the future. This has proven successful in other states where an endangered mammal has been adopted as an emblem, such as the Tasmanian devil in Tasmania in 2015.”  Arguably the Quoll is an even better candidate for this reason since it is higher up the food chain and therefore a better guide to general ecological health. Emblem-increased Quoll conservation efforts would need to consider both foxes and other feral predators on the one hand, but also a wider range of quoll prey.  So conservation of Quolls implies conservation of “gliders, possums, small wallabies, rats, birds, bandicoots, rabbits, insects and reptiles” ¹ and “…fruit”²  Much better than bettongs and wallabies, which are almost entirely vegetarian.

And Quolls have spots, so graphically superior as well as, therefore, ‘cuter’.  Cute but tough, perfect for the ACT.

Mark please accept this as my vote for Spotted-tail Quoll.

 

¹ http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-animals/native-animal-facts/spotted-tail-quoll

² Wikipedia

 

Julian

 

 

From: Mark Clayton
Sent: Wednesday, 13 December 2017 9:20 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Faunal emblem for the ACT

 

Hi all,

 

Recently in the press and on TV there has been discussion that the ACT needs a animal emblem so I thought that I would stir the pot to see what people think. Most states and the Northern Territory have a bird, animal and flower to represent their states. – in the ACT we have the Gang-gang Cockatoo as the bird emblem and the Royal Bluebell as our floral emblem. Two species have been suggested as a possible animal emblem, the Short-beaked Echidna and the Eastern Bettong which is the species being reintroduced to the Mulligans Flat reserve and elsewhere locally. Initially I thought that the echidna was more appropriate than the bettong as the echidna is far better known than the bettong which hasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, been recorded in the ACT in local European history.

 

After thinking about the topic it occurred to me that neither of the suggested species is really suitable as the echidna is found all over Australia and in Papua New Guinea, and the bettong, as I have noted above, hasn’t occurred in the ACT for quite some time. One species that I think would be an ideal animal emblem is the Northern Corroboree Frog, a species that has much of its known habitat and range in the ACT. It is a spectacular little frog with lime-yellow and black markings, and is a threatened species.

 

I would be very interested to see any other suggestions for any species for the three categories as emblems for the ACT. I will collate the answers and get back to the chat line ith the results in a few weeks.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

 

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