Yes, that would be interesting. More interesting would be what they would
do if an official discovered a freshly killed one - would they report it or
kick it out of sight?
I don't know about the skinks, but I would have thought the other species
mentioned would be across the road before you had time to think about it.
Peter Shute
Hi Peter,
The concern about animal road mortalities arises from the speed that these
rally cars travel, where some rally stages are being held and the behaviors
of some animals when being chased by high-speed cars.
I've heard that the rally cars could be reaching speeds of up to 160 km/hr.
In my opinion, there's little chance of an animal avoiding a vehicle at that
speed if it chooses to cross the road at the wrong time.
Secondly, some animals (e.g. lyrebirds and potoroos) panic and try to avoid
oncoming vehicles by running along the edges of roads for a 100-300 metres,
rather than retreating back into bushland straight away, thus making them
more susceptible to being struck by fast-moving vehicles.
Thirdly, parts of the rally go through high conservation areas and bisect
well-defined wildlife corridors (e.g. Richmond Range National Park and
boundary areas between Wollumbin and Mebbin National Parks/Wollumbin State
Conservation Area). Therefore, there is regular animal traffic through these
areas.
There is also a significant likelihood of disturbance to animal species that
have already started breeding close to where the rally will be held
(including Grey-headed Flying-foxes at the Bray Park maternity roost, which
are at risk of aborting fetuses or abandoning newborn offspring as a result
of numerous helicopters flying low overhead).
Then there is potential degradation of habitat as a result of dust and
sediment runoff into creeks and vegetation, and pollutant (oil, fuel, rubber
residues) runoff in the event of rally car accidents. This is a particular
concern to me because there are at least two nationally-threatened frog
species (Giant Barred Frog and Fleays Barred Frog) and there is an
unconfirmed record of a third species (the Stuttering Frog)in creek systems
that rally cars will be crossing.
As for race officials kicking wildlife carcasses out of site, I think that
is most unlikely. The race organizers have assured members of the public
that there will be close monitoring of the situation by their ecologists and
wildlife vets. Given the sensitivity of the situation and the level of
public concern, I don't think there will be any shenanigans. I'm not sure
how effective their wildlife ambulances will be though - I don't think many
animals would survive collisions with speeding rally cars.
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde, NSW
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