Join our zoo community
Monty

Trail cam photo

Hog Deer and Black Snake

Trail cam photo
Monty, 26 Feb 2012
    • Monty
      Hog Deer and Black Snake
    • thor
      I didn't realize Australia had a wild hog deer population?
    • Animal
      Very interesting Photo!
    • Monty
      Only in a limited area on the east coast of Victoria. I believe they are the only legally huntable population of Hog Deer in the world and they have a one month hunting season.

      The bloke who took this photo put the trough on a privately owned island in an estuary. The Hog deer had naturally swum there but fresh water was not always available year round. As that is the only reliable fresh water he gets photos of all the wildlife. He even got a photo of a Sambar which had swum to the island, but it must have kept going as he only got one photo of him. The Hog deer also regally move onto and off the island as he knows all the residents and new ones come and go.
    • thor
      That is great. I'm assuming the introduced species is not harming the ecosystem there?
    • IanRRobinson
      Sadly, I can't see how they'd fail to. Australian plants didn't evolve to deal with hard hooved ungulates and Australian soil organisms didn't evolve to deal with their waste products.
    • Monty
      In large numbers all animals will always do damage. Hog deer though are in low numbers and I dont think anyone could show they were doing any more than The Kangaroos, as they browse the same plants. Here is what the bloke who took the photos and installed the trough has seen coming to the trough on a hot day


      The National Parks and Wildlife service would like them eradicated though. They have poisoned hundreds (or more) in the Wilsons Promontory national park, but keep very quiet about it.
    • Hix
      So - at the very least - they are resource competition for the kangaroos.
    • Monty
      Is that a problem. There are well over 25 million kangaroos and possibly over 40 million.
      I do not agree that just because an animal is not native it should be exterminated. Hog deer are one of the best examples of a species which should be valued as an asset. They were released in the 1860's near Wilsons Promontory and in 150 years have not become a problem or spread very far.
    There are no comments to display.
  • Category:
    Australia - Wildlife
    Uploaded By:
    Monty
    Date:
    26 Feb 2012
    View Count:
    3,090
    Comment Count:
    9

    EXIF Data

    File Size:
    234.5 KB
    Mime Type:
    image/jpeg
    Width:
    1024px
    Height:
    702px
    Aperture:
    f/6.3
    Make:
    SONY
    Model:
    DSC-S600
    Date / Time:
    2012:02:11 13:43:14
    Exposure Time:
    1/125 sec
    ISO Speed Rating:
    ISO 80
    Focal Length:
    5.1 mm
     

    Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc).