Western bobtails (Tiliqua rugosa rugosa) on the move through the suburbs are a sure sign spring is on the way in Perth Western Australia. Unfortunately with this extra movement comes added risk, with one of the largest risks for bobtails in suburban areas being roads. In the last two weeks I have found two dead bobtails just around the corner from where I live, both victims of vehicle strikes. Living in a quiet area surrounded by a regional park, I find this staggering and have to question, was it purely just an accident? Is it complacency of people living here? Or do they simply not care? Thankfully during the same period I have had the pleasure of relocating two bobtails back to the bush from our street ... these were the lucky ones (see one of them in the image below).
Now as bobtails are a common sight in Perth, I do wonder if people really appreciate what we have right on our door step. They truly are an amazing species, so with this blog I hope to provide a bit of an insight into the fascinating biology of the bobtail. The species is a short-tailed (hence the name bobtail) blue-tongued skink found across much of Australia with four subspecies recognised (three of which are found in Western Australia). Bobtails are slow moving so their diet, although varied, consists largely of plants or slow moving animals (e.g. snails and beetles). Mating occurs between September and November, during which time, monogamous pairs of bobtails will seek each other out to reunite and mate once more. This period is one of the most high risk for the species; as it is their peak activity season they become more vulnerable to predation (including from domestic cats and dogs) and vehicle strikes. Outside of this period bobtails will generally live a solitary existence before repeating the cycle of reuniting with their mate each spring for several years. Unlike many reptiles, the bobtail gives birth to live young! This occurs approximately three to five months after mating and the female will usually give birth to two or three young. Amazingly the young are born fully developed and ready to disperse on their own within a matter of days! Often when bobtails are observed in the suburbs they appear to be "lost" wandering haphazardly on roads and up peoples drive ways. Research by Auburn et al. (2009) may help provide some clues as to why this is. To test the visual perception range of bobtails a cleared arena was created with a 0.5 m bush placed at three different distances from a release site, 10 m, 20 m and 30 m. The researchers found that when the bush was placed at 0.5 m bobtails were more likely to seek shelter, however, when the bush was 30 m away, no bobtails were able to find the bush. Interestingly when the bush was 30 m away several individuals did not even move from the release point indicating they could not see the shelter opportunity. The data from this research suggested that bobtails had a visual perception range of up to 20 m, which is perfectly adapted for their life in uncleared bushland which typically has large bushes for shelter at average intervals of 10.5 m. This however becomes much more problematic in fragmented landscapes such as urban areas and care needs to be taken to minimise our impact on these magnificent creatures within such areas. Did you know? The four subspecies of the bobtail are
You can also keep bobtails as pets, however, they must be purchased from a licensed store/breeder (DO NOT take them from the wild - see an article here about a haul of bobtails found by Perth Airport Border Force) and you must have the appropriate DPaW/DBCA License. Further reading
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The dugite (Pseudonaja affinis) is a fascinating diurnal (active mainly during the day) snake with a broad diet, including frogs but with a preference for reptiles, birds and mammals (including the introduced house mouse - which may explain why it loves urban areas ... well and we built our homes on top of theirs!). Interestingly the species is also known to be cannibalistic - feeding on other snakes. Check out a news article highlighting this fascinating behaviour here.
The species is widespread in the South-west occupying a range of habitats including coastal dunes, heathlands, shrublands, and inland wetlands. The mainland species can reach lengths of up to 2 m but more commonly encountered snakes are often in the 1-1.5 m range. The males can mature as early as 58 cm (snout-vent length*) and the females mature as early as 68 cm (snout-vent length). During mating season (winter-early spring) males will combat each other by entwining their bodies together. Females will lay a clutch of eggs in late spring-early summer, ranging from as few as 11 eggs to as much as 35!! Snakes can often get a bit of a bad reputation and the dugite in Perth is no exception. More often than not I see stories on the news highlighting another person that has been bitten (often due to trying to pick up the snake and move it), or I hear from people that had one in the back garden so they killed it to protect their child or dog. So I want to finish this blog off with a bit of education now that the warmer months are fast approaching. Now although they are indeed a venomous snake and should be treated with respect, there are many precautions you can easily take to minimise the risk with snake interactions highlighted on the DPAW (DBCA) website. One such precaution is "Keep a watchful eye on the ground about a metre ahead of where you are walking, and avoid entering areas of long grass, rushes and undergrowth." You would be amazed by how short this "long grass" can be in order for the dugite to disappear right before your eyes (see image at the bottom of the blog - seconds after this photo was taken it completely disappeared from view). If you find them on your property ensure the snake is not accessible to any pets or children, and before you think about reaching for your shovel to kill it, your next step should be contacting the Wildcare Helpline (08) 9474 9055 which can refer you to local reptile removers that will happily come by your place and relocate the snake. With a little care and respect we can co-exist with these amazing creatures. *Snout-vent length - The measurement from the tip of the nose (snout) to the anus (vent) excluding the tail Did you know?
Further reading
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AuthorMy name is Garry and I am extremely passionate about the environment. I have completed my BSc. Conservation and Wildlife Biology with First Class Honours and have worked in the Environment sector since 2009. Archives
September 2019
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Photos used under Creative Commons from sean.kelleher1, BioDivLibrary, BioDivLibrary