The Paddymellon Walaby

[Ralph]

There are quite a lot of these about and many you see on the side of the road as road kill.
But looking on the positive side of this is, if there is so many of these being killed there has to be a lot
of them about making for a healthy population.
These shots were taken in the UnZoo in Tasmania.

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 132.1 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/100 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 100.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/100 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 100.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/100 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 209.1 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-7M3
• 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Contemporary 020
• 209.1 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 800

 

[Gaz]

There are quite a lot of these about and many you see on the side of the road as road kill.
But looking on the positive side of this is, if there is so many of these being killed there has to be a lot
of them about making for a healthy population.
These shots were taken in the UnZoo in Tasmania.
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I was in Port Macquarie earlier in the week. They’ve had over 40 koalas run down during ‘22. I’ve never seen one, except at a zoo, and I’ve been looking for 60 years. Obviously I need to stand near the road!

 

[Slug]

Yes there are a lot of padymelons in Tasmania and yes a lot of road kill too. That causes another problem when endangered species such as Devils and Eagles feed on the kill and get hit as well. Driver behavior is shocking and a real issue.

 

[Ralph]

Yes there are a lot of padymelons in Tasmania and yes a lot of road kill too. That causes another problem when endangered species such as Devils and Eagles feed on the kill and get hit as well. Driver behavior is shocking and a real issue.

I never thought about the drivers being much of an issue here but not living there it is easy not to think along those lines.
But that being the case I think I might end up in a fight as I would follow anyone if they targeted an animal on the side of the roads.
I have done it here with lizards, with the people promising never to do that again.
There was a few times that we seen what we thought as a pair being killed and one on either side of the road but put that down to trucks being unabled to slow down in time.
While we were there I came close to hitting a Paddymellon but lucky for us it turned and went back into the bushland. The of all things we came around a corner and there was a Deer with its front legs on the road as we rounded the bend and that was so close to us hitting it but again it turned and wetn the right way and I turned to look and seen that it was with its mate.
Can you sort this one out for me as I read that the Wedgies there are bigger than the mainland ones and I told this to who we were with to be told bullshit.. I believe this to be true but I had nothing to back up my argument on this but I feel why would that say this if it wasn't true. So do you know if this is fact or not.

 

[Slug]

I never thought about the drivers being much of an issue here but not living there it is easy not to think along those lines.
But that being the case I think I might end up in a fight as I would follow anyone if they targeted an animal on the side of the roads.
I have done it here with lizards, with the people promising never to do that again.
There was a few times that we seen what we thought as a pair being killed and one on either side of the road but put that down to trucks being unabled to slow down in time.
While we were there I came close to hitting a Paddymellon but lucky for us it turned and went back into the bushland. The of all things we came around a corner and there was a Deer with its front legs on the road as we rounded the bend and that was so close to us hitting it but again it turned and wetn the right way and I turned to look and seen that it was with its mate.
Can you sort this one out for me as I read that the Wedgies there are bigger than the mainland ones and I told this to who we were with to be told bullshit.. I believe this to be true but I had nothing to back up my argument on this but I feel why would that say this if it wasn't true. So do you know if this is fact or not.

I'm not aware of any difference and certainly haven't seen any difference in Wedgie size. They may well be better fed in Tasmania but that's just speculation.

 

[Ralph]

Slight differences. In the case of the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, he says, they are darker in colour, have larger bodies, produce smaller clutches - one egg versus usually two on the mainland - and roost only in trees.

This is what I found on the internet about this. These people are smarter than I am so I have no problems believing what they have got to say. But I would go with local knowledge over any scientific test done as they are in and out so quickly and the locals are just that, there all the time.

 

[Slug]

Tassie wedgie. Hard to compare without having the two species together.

• ILCE-7RM3
• FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter
• 560.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 6400