I will try that again but not as an attachment.
[b]Conservation How can you Help ?[/b]
Australia has some of the most unique and diverse species of reptiles in the world with close to 800 species currently described. These species occupy just about every niche and habitat found right across our country. Many reptiles unfortunately are directly affected by our habits and life style as humans who often share or pass through their habitat.
This effect can be in many forms for example, habitat destruction, pollution, feral animals etc. Examples of habitat destruction are, land clearing, fire, pollution, changes of landscape with can affect water flow.
While most people are aware of these obvious scenario?s, and in many cases have no individual control over, there are a few not so obvious hazards to reptiles that occur across Australia on a daily basis and we can help as individuals in lessoning those hazards.
Drink cans
How often do we see drink cans recklessly discarded in the bush? Drink cans are an absolute menace to reptiles and in particular small monitors and snakes. Just about every person that has been extensively involved with the relocation of reptiles have seen or heard at some stage, of reptiles getting their heads caught inside of empty discarded drink cans. This happens every day and just about guarantees a slow death to any reptile that is not found and helped. A way we can contribute to the conservation of our wild life is to take it upon our selves to spread the word to the general community of this hazard with drink cans. While a lazy person may not care too much about the visual impact of leaving his drink can on the ground I would imagine they would be far less likely to do so if they knew they could potentially end up killing a lizard. Most people really do care about the preservation of our wild life but are simply unaware of some of the hazards that they might unnecessarily cause by their actions. There are many other hazards like plastic bags that often end up in our water ways and get washed out to sea and kill turtles who mistake them for jelly fish etc. but thankfully this hazard is one that is now more commonly known and talked about and this is why education is so important.
Habitat Destruction
Fire
Reptiles depend on native vegetation for shelter and protection, and food sources. Historically aboriginal people have burned part of our country for many thousands of years. This was done on a frequent basis creating a mosaic of different fuel ages that would not allow large scale fires to develop as the fire would stop when it encountered reduced fuel areas. Now that this process is no longer being carried out, large tracts of the countryside are being burnt out which poses significant risk to conservation values.
The affects of inappropriate use of fire poses a huge threat to reptiles and of course other wild life.
