Just to get things started again...

Wow... well I've been gone for a while. Sorry about that. Lots of things have come up, including many field trips, spring break, etc. etc. etc.

Here's some background just to get us back on track. To the left: A Spectacled Flying fox. One trip was to the bat hospital, where a nice lady takes care of a ton of these huge bats. The top injuries are caused by barbed wire fencing, paralysis ticks, and netting that people put on their fruit trees. Many of these bats will never leave the hospital again; they have really horrible injuries, especially from the barbed wire. Torn wing membranes are common, facial injuries from trying to bite themselves free are equally common.
When I visited I helped out by making smoothies for the bats. It was a messy job, but it was better than washing the cages out, which some people did have to do. Afterwards we took the food we had prepared out to Tolga, where they regularly feed a large population of wild bats... it's better than having them steal the farmer's fruit from local fields, something that biologists have come to call "Alien Abduction".


A Giant White Water Holding Frog. This one was in the girl's bathroom at the Mareeba Coffee Works (at least I think it was at the Mareeba Coffee Works). I got a couple of burlap coffee bags as souveneers... good wall hangings I guess.


















This is the highest volume waterfall in Queensland. After a good bout of rainstorms, this thing was at its peak. Pitty the weather wasn't so good, otherwise the picture would have been glorious.
Finally, a lace monitor. This guy climbed up a tree just outside the center as we were being given a talk about spring break. We stopped the meeting for photos.

Right then. Stay tuned.