Elephant solution proposed for Australian bush
Baku, February 7 (AZERTAC). Australia could introduce large herbivores such as elephants as part of a radical biological solution to the problem of bushfires and invasive species, says one expert.
The argument is laid out in a provocative commentary from Dr David Bowman, a professor of environmental change biology at the University of Tasmania, and is published in today`s issue of Nature magazine.
"I`m being as provocative as possible to try and wake everybody up to say, `Look, what is currently happening is not sustainable. We have to think outside the square,`" Dr Bowman said.
He says the short-term programs designed to address Australia`s serious problems with bushfires and invasive species are piecemeal, costly and ineffective.
For example, he says, they are not succeeding in controlling the invasive gamba grass that leads to frequent intense fires in Australia`s north.
"It`s out of control," he said. "Last year we had a fire in the outback in Central Australia the size of Tasmania. These things are very bad."
Dr Bowman says the sheer magnitude of the landscape makes short-term slashing and aerial spraying programs impractical, and biological solutions are needed instead.
"Biology doesn`t sleep. Biology is a 24/7 program," he said.
The article proposes that large herbivores like elephants be used as "grass-eating machines" and, used alongside traditional Aboriginal patch burning, could help manage fire risk in the north.
Dr Bowman argues that short-term programs designed to poison feral animals, fence them out of sensitive areas or shoot them from helicopters are expensive and ineffective.
Instead, top predators like dingoes could be reinstated to control foxes and cats, and Aboriginal people should be encouraged to hunt feral animals.
"We could pay Aboriginal people to hunt and burn ... not for a program, but forever," Dr Bowman said.
He said research suggests the health of Aboriginal people would also improve if they were given these important tasks.
Dr Bowman spent 20 years working as a wildlife biologist in northern Australia, often with Aboriginal people, managing weeds, fire and feral animals.
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