Yowiehunters Forum

Hi All

I was reading through the thread “Yowie VS High Powered Ordinance” and Yowielover1 posted this link http://cfzaustralia.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... perty.html to Gary Opit’s Site. In his article about the about the Singleton yowie, Gary proposes the theory that the increase in yowie sightings is due to their increase in numbers, and that is due to the Aborigines no longer hunting them.
Now I don’t intend to propose arguments for or against this theory, but instead, for the sake of discussion, wish to ask this question; If yowie numbers have increased substantially over the last 200 years, and that is why we have an increase in sightings, then what will happen when their numbers increase further to the extent that they no longer are an unknown rarity but become a common pest?

The reports that I have read of encounters around farm houses and in suburbia suggest that we would then have a huge problem, with pets going missing, livestock being killed, orchards and gardens being raided, and people fearing for their lives.

The discovery and subsequent protection of such a creature would seem a novel idea at first, but what natural balances are there to control the numbers of such a creature? Our impacts on the Australian environment has resulted in the creation of limitless supplies of food for such a creature, what with our garbage tips, agriculture, urbane sprawls, and let’s not forget about the amount of road kill just left lying around along our highways. If such a creature as the yowie does exist, then it comes as no surprise that their numbers would be on the increase.

If the yowie population increased to the extent that they became a pest to us, then we would no doubt turn to the authorities to do something about it, but what if the yowie was some sort of throw back to an earlier species of hominid? Would it then have rights similar to us humans? Perhaps if the Authorities knew that such a creature existed, they would keep it from the general public, so that they could quietly go about the business of controlling their numbers with out a public outcry. They may especially target those individuals that made themselves known by foraging near human habitation, there by reducing the chances of the discovery of their existence and also removing an individual that was causing concern to the public.

I don’t propose that any of this is fact or that it is backed by any evidence, but am only throwing this idea out there in the interests of discussion.

Interesting question..
If in fact numbers are increasing, due to increased availability of food sources, less competition for same and combined with their blatant willingness to approach human habitation, they will come in contact more and more.
The same scenario is seen in other species: Dingos, pigs, Bears and coyotes in the US, we/us humans provide the invitation to them with a smorgasboard of food..Mango, and vegie farms, sheep, cattle and goats..whoo hoo " buffet time" all you can eat; plus easy access to rubbish dumps, youd naturally breed up ( Darwin's theory of natural selection) in action.
i dont believe they can stay hidden forever.....if they are outed from the crypto closet what will Govt do, probably the wrong thing as usual.
if they are as smart as i think they are then they will hold on to their territory vigourously and aggressively..hence the inevitable conflict...Ooooh something must be done..public at risk The next federal govt intervention may well be on a hominid race older than the aboriginals.

cheers

Given what we are doing on a global scale...I cannot see them as a pest....Only us. They use their environment responsibly....we take from it without regard in forward thinking.

They deserve respect because they respect their environs. We do nothing of the sort.

We can learn a lot from them. And they deserve protection.

YL, exactly my thoughts too. I am always reminded of the Construct Smith in the Matrix movies, who described the human race as a 'virus', that spreads, breeds and consumes all resources around it.

I'm not sure what proportion of Australia is currently protected with National Park and conservation property status, but I imagine it's not much. The Irwin family spent a huge proportion of their money on purchasing land to ensure native creatures had a refuge to go to. There are many private individuals who own large areas of land as farms or whatevet, however, I can see that developers are keen to sell every bit of land they can get their greedy hands on, and worry that even the best intentions of the owners can be swayed by large sums of money, particularly when these folks pass on, and their surviving relatives know how much their land is worth.

Yowies a pest? Probably not likely - they seem to be like a lot of other beasties, in that they want to keep as far away from Man as possible, however, if htey continue to be pressed back into smaller and smaller areas, there is bound to be conflict not only with increasing numbers of their own kind being forced to share hunting and living territories, but with the encroaching human influence. Only if they are unable to retreat any further do I think they will become a 'pest' - what they are doing now is just surviving, and I reckon they might just push back if humankind will not stop its invasion of bushland areas to build more little boxes on the hillside made out of ticky-tacky. They are more likely to die out as we consume their territories, food supplies, and our pollution and mess destroys their environment.

What do we do if they do become more aggressive ('pesty')? Maybe once they are actually official recognized as existing they will be protected, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen. The debate will rage on and on as people argue about the rights of the Yowie, but if the past record of many places in the world is gone by, the non-stop greed for money that seems to override the boundaries of good sense and decency will be the determining factor of how the Yowie can be promoted and exploited. I'd hate to see them go the same way as the Dodo.


Shazz