Archive for March, 2010
The Food Chain
March 31st, 2010 | 
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A rasping, guttural distress call came out of the rainforest near our living area at about 9.00pm. A red-legged pademelon was jumping up and down in a frantic, almost deranged state. Closer investigation revealed that an amethystine python had entwined the pademelon’s joey. The joey was biting the snake as it tried to get away, but the python was too strong and determined. There’s a temptation to try to extricate the weaker creature from the coils of the snake, but we do not interfere. Living in a rainforest, rich with wildlife, we have become observers and recorders of life.
The times they are a-changing
In 1898 Lots 52v and 54v were described as being “good scrub land, exceedingly dense lawyer vine scrub, heavily timbered sassafras, silky oak, palm and bean trees, and good brown soil.” A potential purchaser could then evaluate its worth for timber and farming.
In December 1988 Australia inscribed the wet tropics world heritage area because of different values:
Posted in Life in the Daintree | 
Tags: alternative living, daintree rainforest conservation | 
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Prehensile-tailed Rat (Pogonomys mollipilosus)
Behold, one of the cutest and most-secretive of the Daintree rainforest’s inhbaitants, the adorable Prehensile-tailed Rat (Pogonomys mollipilosus).
I was most fortunate the other night, having glimpsed the blur of movement down the blindside of a narrow tree trunk, to warrant closer scrutiny. The gorgeous rodent, true to form, was immobilised by light, about ten-metres from where it was first glimpsed.
Golden Penda Flowering
The spectacular flowering of the Golden Penda Xanthostemon chrysanthus (MYRTACEAE) has arrived. The native habitat of the floral emblem of Cairns Region lies between the Iron Range and Cardwell. Its brilliant yellow flowers make it easily identified, particularly when adjacent water-courses carry the fallen blooms in dazzling rafts of floral beauty.
A fantastic new phasmid
The latter part of February and early March have brought damaging winds that have toppled rainforest giants and trimmed the canopy of much of its foliage. Apart from the onerous clean-up and the re-establishment of trails, an interesting insight is temporarily available to a range of rainforest inhabitants that have hitherto remained out-of-sight. One such sighting very conveniently presented itself on our kitchen wall, initiating the unravelling of the mystery of its identity.