News Bulletin

A walk on the wild side - in your back yard

Many of us have household pets - dogs, cats, birds, fish, guinea pigs, axolotls - the list is endless it seems.  But no matter what our pet is, we nurture, feed and house it according to its needs. 

Yet we ignore or even disdain the other animals who share our place - the possums, birds, marsupial mice, lizards or other native animals.  More often than not, any animal outside the home is considered "wildlife" - which, while accurate, can also be misleading, since native animals are increasingly having to adapt to live in the urban environment. 

This is even more noticeable in drought-affected areas, where the lack of food and water is driving them away from their normal habitat. 

While it is illegal to "house" native animals, and important to avoid making them fully dependent on humans as a food source, there are some things you can do to make their adaptation and lives a lot easier:

• Make your yard welcoming to outdoor pets by landscaping with native plants that provide natural food sources, nesting sites and shelter from the elements and predators.
• Set up feeders and keep them well stocked. 
• Make fresh water available.
• Keep feeders full, clean and sanitary - just like people, birds can transmit disease to one another by eating from a dirty feeder.
• Scrub birdbaths with a brush and replace water every three to five days to discourage mosquito reproduction.
• Go easy on the chemicals, taking special care when you use pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in your yard, as many of these can be toxic to birds and other outdoor pets.
• Keep cats inside at night - many native animals are nocturnal, so when the sun goes down it's their time to shine, and in most cases it is best if domestic cats aren't around.