Someone from the shire put up this sign a few days ago, well I think it was them. Parks and Wildlife have denied any responsibility. It's just outside my driveway. While there are rumours of quokkas around here, I've never seen one. The most random thing about this sign is that it faces traffic on their way back out to the highway. You'd have to dodge these mythical creatures for ten kilometres on the way here before even seeing this sign.
The shire have been busy on the mountain road too. On one of my last journeys to the fire tower, I saw two similar signs; one of a horse and another a deer. Apparently there are feral horses and red deer out in those badlands. No mention of kangaroos, emus or feral pigs, though I see them every day.
Might write the shire a letter requesting a thylacine sign, seeing as they are definitely the main suspect (that I never see) in eating all the quokkas (that I never see).
That is SO random! I didn't think Quokkas were this far south. But I do know about the horse and lately just found out that there were feral deer everywhere now. One of the guys at work is a shooter - a responsible one I think - and he talked about going out for deer a couple of weeks ago. He eats them too.
ReplyDeleteQuokkas do live around here and probably around your patch too Michelle. But they are not urban and are very shy, unlike that Rottnest Island mob who will break into a tent for food.
DeleteThe deer your friend speaks of is probably that smaller species that have escaped from local deer farms. However, goggle 'red deer', they're the ones out the back of Mt Frankland. They are the size of a horse!
I had to look up both quokka and thylacine. It looks like the quokka mainly photobombs selfies and throws its babies around. What is the 'shire', or is that a silly question?
ReplyDeleteFirst silly question: what's the thing about quokkas throwing around their babies? (too scared to google that one).
DeleteAnyway, yes, the urban quokkas from Rottnest Island have been part of a tourism campaign where people come to take selfies with them. It's a bit weird.
Regarding the shire, I'm living on a tiny piece of private property in the middle of a national park. Parks and wildlife look after the park and the council shire looks after the roads, infrastructure and some such. Would you call it a municipal county or something where you live?
It's where Hobbits come from where I live. When I was Googling up quokkas, there was a list of pre-asked questions including: 'Is it true quokkas throw their babies around?'. Not knowing anything about them, I guessed that there might be no smoke without fire.
DeleteI had to look up quokka too. It seems like you will have to go out in the night to see them in your headlights. I like the word thylacine, it doesn't sound like an animal at all which I suppose now it isn't (I looked that up too).
ReplyDeleteThe thylacene has a special place in my heart. Maybe it's an extinction thing, like the mammoths. It's name also sounds like an era, which is prescient perhaps.
DeleteCount me among those who had to Google "quokka". I like the sign, useless as it may be. It's cute!
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty funny. But quokkas are really cute. They are a marsupial with a pouch for their babies (like a thylacine) and not much bigger than a cat, though they hop upright rather than run.
DeleteRottnest quokka selfie a Western Australian tourism success
ReplyDelete11 Jan 2018 · Tennis star Roger Federer's cute quokka selfie has reached 581 million people in 45 countries.
Info from Google.
Very good for W A tourism. Maybe these new signs are part of a tourism campaign?
Sorry Margaret but where I live is off the edge of the earth and hundreds of miles from tourism central. The quokka sign makes little sense but I'm getting about correcting that. Stay tuned.
ReplyDelete