Camera Traps – February 2022 accrued 172-cassowaries, 9-dingoes and 67-feral pigs. Against the cumulative monthly average, cassowary numbers rose by 173%, whilst dingoes were 69% down and feral-pig numbers also fell by 46%. Against February 2021, cassowaries were 55%-up, dingoes were 43% down and feral-pig numbers also fell by 76%.
Image highlights from February 2022
Progress of the cassowary chicks
Taiga and his two eight-month-old chicks, Sharon & Steve.
Scratch and his two of his three seven-month-old chicks, George, John & Grant.
February spiders
Whilst cassowaries and dingoes are of vital importance to the health, productivity and security of this irreplaceable World Heritage-listed ecosystem, feral-pigs are an indisputable pest and since 2000 have been federally-declared as a key threatening process. However, we must not trivialise the significance of this treasure down to three competing species; the biological diversity of life within is worthy of great celebration. Here is a sample of spider images captured across February 2022 – with the first being a Beautiful Crab Spider – Poecilothomisus speciosus – devouring a much larger Jungle Huntsman – Heteropoda sp.. Robert Raven advises, from the excellent facebook group Australian & NZ Arachnid Photography:
The Crab lies on its back trembling as if dead, luring the huntsman which comes in to bite, but the abdomen is rock and as it fails, the crab attacks…
Next is the Lichen Huntsman (Pandercetes gracilis); Comb-footed Spider (Rhomphaea spp.); Brush Tarantula (Coremiocnemis tropix); Striped Jumping Spider (Cytaea spp.); another Lichen Huntsman (Pandercetes gracilis); Tree-stump Spider (Poltys illepidus); Red-bellied Long-jawed Spider (Tetragnatha rubriventris); Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura Higgins); Tiger Huntsman (currently undescribed); Slender Rainforest Spiders (Calamoneta spp.) & another Tiger Huntsman (currently undescribed).
Greater Wilderness Experience EVEN Greater!
Daintree Rainforest P/L is the majority contributor to the Daintree Rainforest Fund, but with February being the slowest month of the year for tourism, burdened with two-years of COVID restrictions, February 2022 has plummeted to an all-time low. In the dearth of visitation, the Greater Wilderness Experience has undergone a major upgrading, re-incorporating Cooper Creek into the immersive experience: The following images showcase attributes of these improvements:
Daintree Rainforest Foundation Ltd has been registered by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and successfully entered onto the Register of Environmental Organisations. Donations made to the Daintree Rainforest Fund support the Daintree Rainforest community custodianship and are eligible for a tax deduction under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
