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territorial deer living in v Ltd space: |
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ben rigsby Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 No. of posts: 337  View other posts by ben rigsby |
Posted: 21 Aug 2010 hi folks, this is a little spin-off from my SHERLOCK HOLMS post for those interested. im no deer behaviour expert and i certainly dont want to inflame members or visitors who have a strong opinion on alien species intros and have been "bitten" by other participants in previous RAUK debates. like davew. i understand fully if people dont want to go to war again (eg WALL LIZARDS; WHOSE (sic) FOR OR AGAINST...... debate). we all love herps or we wouldnt be here. who wants to fight comrades? but on the other hand, im curious to know what herp people think of the prescence of muntjac deer on steepholm (see my SHERLOCK HOLMS posts for more details). id like to request here and now that you momentarily hold fire on your usual opinions (as i did) when you consider that STEEP HOLM is a very SMALL ISLAND. a totally unique setting. however you look at it. esp given the fauna. it cannnot be thought of in the same way as mainland herp sites can it? there is no chance of new blood for example. the muntjac deer were introduced in 1977 by an employee or trustee of KAMT who couldnt bear the thought of them being culled in his native HERTS and so removed them to SH. the warden told me this. personally, i think in this instance, for the sake of SH (this is supposed to be a nature reserve) as a whole and for the well-being of the deer themselves (its so small a gene pool surely?) they should be repatriated to herts and good luck. i think the slowies would benefit. as undoubtedly would the flora. deer are such catholic browsers. but what do you think? not that we can make a difference probably! ben PS if they provide drinking pools for alien deer on steepholm maybe we should make special provisions for wall lizards in bournemouth too. build hibernacula or put out mealworms. only joking!  Diversity. |
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Suzi Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 No. of posts: 860 View other posts by Suzi |
Posted: 21 Aug 2010 I'm not sure the people of Herts would be pleased to have more Muntjac. They are a serious pest in places. Shooting them all would be a better idea than repatriating. I'm surprised they put them on the island in the first place. Aren't introductions of mammals to small islands asking for trouble? Or are they viewed as performing useful management work like the beloved cattle on our mainland reserves? Suz |
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Davew Senior Member Joined: 12 Jan 2004 No. of posts: 99 View other posts by Davew |
Posted: 22 Aug 2010 I do wish people wouldn't keep involving me in these things - I realised years ago that I'm in a minority and that arguing just inflames the situation and eventually could lead to more animals being killed so I no longer publicly get involved. I have nothing to say - if someone wants to kill an "alien" then woopdy frikkin doo - aren't you so brilliantly intelligent etc, etc, etc - we've heard it all before. |
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ben rigsby Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 No. of posts: 337 View other posts by ben rigsby |
Posted: 22 Aug 2010 oops. i said i didnt mean to inflame but i have. sorry! Diversity. |
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Suzi Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 No. of posts: 860 View other posts by Suzi |
Posted: 22 Aug 2010 I hope I haven't upset anyone either! I've been looking back through Davew's posts to see his stance on things. My comments are my own feelings, from a non-expert of course! Apologies if taken personally - not meant to get at individuals here! Suz |
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ben rigsby Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 No. of posts: 337 View other posts by ben rigsby |
Posted: 22 Aug 2010 can i please humbly point out that taboos lead to ignorance and that hearing ALL sides of an argument helps the undecided build a more balanced opinion of their own. this in turn surely leads to better understanding and better decisions for our wildlife. expert or not, we all have votes. decision making ought to be well-informed. dave might feel hes in a minority but so what? his arguments are well-reasoned. he makes you think about it in a differnt light and that cannot be a bad thing considering the complexity of the issue and the depth of feeling. as a relative newcomer to RAUK and an amateur herper im interested in hearing everyone. speak up 1 and all. just be polite. after all, the thorny issue of alien species in the uk is NOT going to go away if we ignore it is it? sorry again dave. i take the hint and wont mention you again! 
as i said HOWEVER you look at it S Holm is unique uk AF habitat. ben Diversity. |
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kevinb Senior Member Joined: 18 Mar 2009 No. of posts: 61 View other posts by kevinb |
Posted: 22 Aug 2010 Hate to add this , but with tongue firmly in cheek, it's a unique UK Muntjac habitat also  |
- territorial deer living in v Ltd space |