On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 11:29:11AM +1100, Chris Charles wrote:
> Brush Turkey chic a few weeks old seen this morning 8:00am
> beside the Sydney Harbour Bridge approach below
> Milsons Point station headed south.
Probably eyeing the Botanic Gardens across the harbour.
I was talking to a Koala expert a few week ago about Brush Turkeys, and he
mentioned that Koalas seem to have been absent from Sydney at the time
of European settlement and also there are few if any representations of
Koalas in Sydney rock art. The first Koala record in the Sydney region
was apparently 1798 near Bargo beyond Sydney's SW fringe.
His theory was that the rich marine & littoral resources of Sydney
Harbour supported such a high aboriginal population density that Koala
were hunted to local extinction. This might also explain the scarcity
of historical Sydney records for Brush Turkey despite their presence
both south & north of Sydney.
Although I've just come across a report of Brush Turkey in an
archeological excavation of a aboriginal midden at Vaucluse dated to
the century before European settlement.
Andrew
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