Barbed wire is a bitch. It's OK if your hide is a quarter of an inch thick, but I found one of these little guys, a sugar glider, caught up on it this morning over by my rosella patch. His body is unscathed, but in his struggle to get free, the soft skin, which enables him to glide, was pierced and wound around the barb. It took me ages to work it loose. It must have hurt like hell.I don't know how long he had been hanging there in pain, twisting himself around the wire, but when I found found him he was just about done in. He still had a bit of fight left in him though - my hands are shredded as a result of his determination to fend me off. Had to take off my shirt and wrap it around him till I managed to unhook him.
He's currently curled up under his very own tail - about the length of his body - all six inches of it, and I have to say it's awfully tempting to keep the little critter as a pet now that I am completely attached to him, having spent a couple of hours stroking his incredibly soft furry body to relax him enough to be able to get at the wounded skin and slather it in betadene.
He actually ate and drank after sleeping it off all day, so if the torn skin looks clean and there's no infection, I'll let him go tomorrow night. But damn, humans are cruel bastards. I had no idea these little creatures end up tangled on barbed wire. Now I'm going to have to do a morning patrol along the fences that pass through bush land on the farm - which is just about everywhere.
Oh well, I can do with the exercise, and it'll save G-Man the hassle of looking for broken strands. I suppose I could probably take a roll of wire with me and the fencing pliers as well, as if there isn't enough to do around the place.
I could get shot for all manner of things here, spesh after a few sherbets, along the lines of, " When ya walk the line each A.M. take a BAT with ya".
ReplyDeleteBUT!, Sugar Gliders, I hada thng for these little fellas when I was a kid, they are wicked and the pop is not massive. Good job.
Poor little guy. Hope he keeps on the mend.
ReplyDeleteI guess you can't do without the barb wire on the fence line.
ReplyDeleteWould it help if the wire were painted yellow and was easier to spot?
There is a school of thought that says we should have natives as pets, cause when they escape or get dumped they just get absorbed back into the eco system rather than disrupting it.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you nurse the poor creature instead of killing and eating it? Sugar Gliders look delicious (if, of course, they are prepared properly). I really don't understand you Australians.
ReplyDeleteBecause Boylan, (and havock) the time and energy involved in skinning, gutting, skewering and kebabbing a creature as small as this is not worth the less than a mouthful of flesh on it's bones. They are much more valuable to a human alive and kicking for their sheer beauty.
ReplyDeleteAnd Beeso - nice idea, but I'm buggered if I'm going to spend the rest of my life crawling around catching the insects its diet requires. It will be patched up enough to give it an even chance against its natural predators and then set free.
The Bobette used a Sugar Glider in a story for school assignment. Prof Google has about a bazillion hits for them. Including some noxiously sacharine youtube stuff. Apparantly they have quite a following in the States as pets, about on a par with ferrets. If you lived high rise you want to keep your windows closed, or you'd never get him/her back.
ReplyDeleteFab little buggers. You could make him the best kind of pet - release him on a plate of food in a cat proof position and tell him (in Sugar Glider - I assume your fluent) the he and his family are welcome anytime. My mum & dad have had four generations of semitame magpies sh!tting on the front deck this way.
You are raising trees, perhaps he & his familly are liking that? Lots of native flowers, lots of cover from predators.
Thats a point, why do the trees need barbed wire? They are unlikely to stampede.
Some of my most pained & bloodied childhood memories are of Warratah brand High tensile gal barbed wire, running 5 strands straight & tight to Grandpa standard.
The barbed wire fence runs through the bush and over a creek just to the north of the house which is where the critter no doubt lives. I don't imagine he meant to fly into it - just misjudge his landing in a tree above and - splat.
ReplyDeleteI would try the plate of food taming technique, except that I doubt anywhere is safe from the feral cat - or the gos hawks for that matter. Nah, he's safer staying in the cover of the bush.
I understand that sugar gliders enjoy some popularity as pets in the USA. Where yes, apparently it is legal to own them as opposed to here, where it would simply make SENSE to be able to keep them as pets. I'm told they domesticate easily and become very friendly, very cuddly and active companions.
ReplyDeleteYes. I understand that the law is there to prevent animals being caught from the wild. But... for fuck's sake. Much as I like my cats, I'd far rather have a couple of sugar gliders.
Trouble is though, they are nocturnal and are about as interesting as a wet paper cup during the day, then spend all night leaping from the chandeliers!
ReplyDeleteThey are, however, about a million times cuter than cats - even kittens.
And a million times tastier. Cat can be stringy - even kittens.
ReplyDeleteHeavy Sigh...
ReplyDeleteSadly, the little glider didn't make it. Though lively and aggressive this morning, he declined during the day and died this evening - blood poisoning I guess, or some kind of infection from the wound.
Bugger.
(((hugs)) You did your best. And the tiny creature died in comfortable and sympathetic surroundings, not crucified on the wire.
ReplyDeleteI am sincerely sad.
ReplyDeleteBuck up camper! He would have been breakfast to crows otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHow sad.
ReplyDeleteit kinda lends some weight to be kind via the TOW BAR. Just a thought is all.
ReplyDeleteI take it, ya not into Quail then as well, just breast'em and remove the legs..mm yum, but again, about two mouthfuls.
That's sad. At least you gave it a chance.
ReplyDeleteHughsey very sad, like that Honeyeater chick I saved (if only for a day) a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteI'd have thought you'd have got rid of that feral cat by now. G-man needs to set up a blind then get yourself a rifle with a nightsight and you're off!
Then you can reuse the blind a a cubby house for the nephew and teach him some bird watching and photography