Indian Palm Squirrels for sale

[Miss_Croft]

RRB – I was down playing the potential of Palm squirrels becoming a pest. All the animals you have mentioned were deliberately released and many of them were released multiple times due to failure of the first release (there was a rabbit master paid to watch over the released rabbits).

Did anyone read the link I posted on Squirrels in Australia – it stated there were small populations around Australia (Sydney, Adelaide) – only one surviving based around the Perth Zoo – suggesting it is not a self sustaining population – but more radiating from the protection of the Perth Zoo grounds. Specimens have been found (Caught) up to 140km from the Perth Zoo – but no population started again suggesting there are predators in Australia stopping their spread.

There are many other animals that have been brought to Australia and are kept as pets for example ferrets and guinea pigs – these two have not taken off as feral animals.

As mentioned before to date there has not been a proper bio diversity risk assessment on the palm squirrel and potential impact to the Australian environment.

[Jozz]

Originally Posted by Australis

I mean, if you were actually in New York or even North America as you like to make
out you would actually have some idea!

New York, New York

[reptilesDownUnder]

Originally Posted by Miss_Croft

only one surviving based around the Perth Zoo – suggesting it is not a self sustaining population – but more radiating from the protection of the Perth Zoo grounds.

Hi Miss_Croft,

You're becoming less coherent as this thread wears on. I think you have a different definition of the terms 'feral' and 'self-sustaining' than most people. Maybe those terms mean something different in New York?

Are you (or the Squirrels in Australia page you mentioned) suggesting that Perth Zoo (or someone else) is breeding and deliberately releasing squirrels into their grounds? That's the only way I can think of by which a non self-sustaining population could persist there for as long as it has.

Edit: I'm not trying to have a go at you (that's an Australian saying meaning insulting, undermining or being argumentative towards), but the stuff you're saying doesn't make sense to me, so I'm trying to get clarification on some of your points.

Stewart

[Hix]

I'd also like to point out that the article in question was written 20 years ago.



Hix

[-Peter]

I saw a red panda in the wild at Mosman once. Talk about feral manace.

[Splitmore]

About 15 years or so ago you used to be able to buy these squirrels in most pet shops. Pets World at Grace Bros used to sell them.

[JasonL]

Squirrels may not do too well around southern states, but what about the tropical north? Various species of squirrels abound in SE asia, and some species will even eat insects. They were introduced into Bali, where they are now a pest. I'm sure fruit and nut farmers would love to see them roaming around their farms. I saw at least two species of squirrel on my recent trip to Thailand, where they turned up everyday from trees around shopping centers, hotels, and in the middle of the wilderness. They are native to Thailand though.

[expansa1]

Originally Posted by Splitmore

About 15 years or so ago you used to be able to buy these squirrels in most pet shops. Pets World at Grace Bros used to sell them.

15. You mean more like 20 -30
You're really showing your age now Chris!

[amazonian]

Originally Posted by Splitmore

About 15 years or so ago you used to be able to buy these squirrels in most pet shops. Pets World at Grace Bros used to sell them.

You could also buy crocs at a shop I think called "wet & wonderful pets?" untill they were released into Manly dam.

[shlanger]

I saw 'free roaming' palm squirrels in Taronga Zoo in 1970. Thought they were cute and tried hard to catch one, to no avail!
The last Victorian known population of Grey Squirrels died out in 1973. They were in the Ballarat gardens

[Miss_Croft]

Stewart – I was saying the current population of Palm squirrels appear to be radiating out of Perth Zoo – that is have found a safety in the zoo grounds from predators (Cats, foxes or dogs most probably). But back to my last statement to my knowledge there has never been a bio diversity risk assessment done on these little guys or many other animals in Australia.

By what you are saying – a flock of sheep is a pest species because it breeds in the farmers paddocks. (You have not taken in account the farmer keeps the sheep safe from predators much the same as the Perth Zoo fences protect the palm squirrel’s from predators)

You can release guinea pigs in your back yard – they might bread for a while – but before long they will probably die out due to hawks and other land predators (Cats, foxes and dogs).

JasonL – I also saw many species squirrels in both Thailand and Bali – you can often see them bouncing along the tops of buildings in Thailand. But without the assessment there is no way of determining if they will become a pest in Australia.

As pointed out before a population of Indian palm squirrels was established in Sydney and Adelaide – but since died out. Gray and Red Squirrels in both Melbourne and Ballarat – since died out.

Back to what I was saying – there has never been any bio diversity risk assessment done on Indian Palm Squirrel – and as a result we do not know the potential risk they pose to the Australian environment. What we can say is to date they have not been very successful at colonizing Australia (Two out of three isolated population since vanished)

[junglepython2]

Originally Posted by Miss_Croft

All the animals you have mentioned were deliberately released and many of them were released multiple times due to failure of the first release (there was a rabbit master paid to watch over the released rabbits).

So the other feral species didn't take off straight away, what makes you think the squirrels are any different?

[reptilesDownUnder]

Originally Posted by Miss_Croft

Stewart – I was saying the current population of Palm squirrels appear to be radiating out of Perth Zoo – that is have found a safety in the zoo grounds from predators (Cats, foxes or dogs most probably). But back to my last statement to my knowledge there has never been a bio diversity risk assessment done on these little guys or many other animals in Australia
By what you are saying – a flock of sheep is a pest species because it breeds in the farmers paddocks. (You have not taken in account the farmer keeps the sheep safe from predators much the same as the Perth Zoo fences protect the palm squirrel’s from predators)

I was saying the current population of Palm squirrels appear to be radiating out of Perth Zoo

There's no doubt about that. In fact, I mentioned the feral population at Perth Zoo just before you denied its existence.

I don't think that anyone from Australia would disagree with you - sheep are definitely a pest species (albeit a tasty one) over here! But a flock of sheep in a paddock being cared for by a farmer isn't a self-sustaining population - the farmer is an outside entity that is sustaining the population. Again, maybe something is being lost in translation here. You sophisticated New Yorkers might have different definitions for these terms compared to our simple Australian ones.

Speaking of New Yorkers, it must really be the town that never sleeps! Why are you up so early in the morning?!? You must be very enthralled in this discussion!

But back to my last statement to my knowledge there has never been a bio diversity risk assessment done on these little guys or many other animals in Australia

You keep going back to that statement. No one's disagreeing with you here. But the fact that a biodiversity risk assessment has never been done doesn't negate the fact that there is a wild, feral, self-sustaining population of these cute little squirrels in Australia. And according to the source you found while Googling, they're been here since 1898. That's a fairly long track record of existence. And I'm sure that your denial of their 110 year existence would be very offensive to them. Or perhaps the population is not self-sustaining, but is instead comprised of 110-year-old squirrels?

there has never been any bio diversity risk assessment done on Indian Palm Squirrel – and as a result we do not know the potential risk they pose to the Australian environment

But we do know that they have the potential to produce a wild, feral, self-sustaining population in Australia. And this, despite no one having done a biodiversity risk assessment.

This thread has gone on so long I've forgotten what we were even talking about. I'm not sure that you even knew what we were talking about in the first place.

Vegetarian cats, carnivorous dugongs, extinct squares... What's the world coming to?!?!


Stewart

[shlanger]

OK gentle people, all those who want to learn about the introduction of feral animals and plants in this country, may I suggest you get and read a copy of "They All Ran Wild" by Eric Rolls. 1969,
This is about the introduction of feral animals, birds and plants. You will be staggered, amazed and relieved, to learn about the amount of ferals that were introduced, but were not successful at adapting to Aus. conditions. Good read, promise!

[Geronimo]

I don't think we should allow squirrels into Australia. Maybe it's not a totally relevant point but look at what happened in the UK where introduced grey squirrels adapted so well that the native reds are now endangered... I lived in London for ten years and I can assure you that they don't need oak trees to thrive!!! I had one grey squirrel who lived in my backyard and earned the nickname "Fat Bastard" after ripping open the bags and gorging on rubbish every Monday before the dustman came around. Got so fat that he couldn't climb vertical surfaces (i.e. the wall of my house) like "normal" squirrels can. Squirrels are highly intelligent, persistant and always hungry. Anyone remember the David Attenborough doc where they set up a series of obstacles and mazes for the wild squirrels to negotiate in order to get to a stash of nuts? There you go. I'm sure that if enough of them got out we'd be in trouble... Also I was shocked to see them climbing coconut palm trees in Bali!!! Coming from an English winter it didn't compute, I couldn't believe what I had seen! I can tell you there aren't many oak trees there, and more than a few starving, stray cats and dogs who should be able to keep them in check... All that said I saw one the other day out at the Frog and Reptile show in Sydney and there's no denying that they are almost unbearably cute small fuzzies...