Brisbane is a city of a million people and an unknown number of mammals, reptiles, birds and other wildlife. Somehow we need to learn to live together! Some of the animals which share our environment are:
Possums
Lots of people love to watch the brush-tail and ring-tail possums running along the electricity lines or in neighbourhood trees. Hearing them in your roof in the middle of the night is not quite so amusing. But it is illegal to catch and move possums more than 100 metres from where they were caught. They are very territorial and are likely to die if placed in another possum’s territory.
Fruit bats
These mammals could be the ones eating your ripe pawpaws and mangoes. They seem to always just take a juicy bite and leave the rest on the tree. It is illegal to kill or harm these critters.
Geckoes
They aren’t native animals but it seems they are well liked. With a loud clicking noise, they announce their presence. And they can be helpful by eating mosquitoes and moths around your home. Watch their speedy antics around any external lights of an evening.
Brush or bush turkeys
These large birds are reasonably common in South East Queensland, particularly leafy suburbs. They can become pests when they try to build a large mound nest in your garden but they are protected animals and cannot be killed or removed. The Council website has more information.
Birds
Living in Brisbane, it is not unusual to be woken by the mad call of kookaburras or the beautiful warblings of black and white butcher birds. Brightly coloured rainbow lorikeets are everywhere and of course, watch out for magpies during their nesting season of September and October.
Frogs
Encourage them into your garden. Find out how by reading the information supplied by the Queensland Frog Society.
And toads – we all want to get rid of them but that seems close to impossible, instead we have to learn how to reduce their numbers and lessen their impact on our environment. If you find them in your garden, pick them up (with gloves on), put them in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge for an hour or so. Once they are chilled, put them in the freezer. This is a humane way to dispose of these pests.
Don’t leave out pet food or other food scraps for them to eat. Cane toads can kill dogs, cats and other wildlife if eaten.
Wildlife image gallery
Submit an image of wildlife in the region and check out our wildlife image gallery.
Want to know more?
The Queensland Museum has information about our vanishing wildlife.
And the book by Queensland Museum – Wildlife of Greater Brisbane (2007) is invaluable if you want to know more. It has great pictures and descriptions of the animals and their habitat – all to be found in our own backyard or nearby protected areas.
