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Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
11–20 of 269 posts
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#12This is super cool, if a bit scary. Man Australia has it all though, 8/10 of the deadliest spiders, half the deadliest snakes, crocodiles, rockfish, and now firebirds. Inhabiting Australia is a testament to man's arrogance.
> Inhabiting Australia is a testament to man's arrogance.
Given that humans inhabited Australia for at least 40,000 years without the benefits of domesticable crops or herd animals, I'd say it's a testament to incredible perseverance.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#13So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
Don't forget things like emotion, compassion and physical pain too; we're far too quick to decide that animals "obviously can't" experience these things.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#14"Journal of Ethnobiology" "Though Aboriginal rangers and others who deal with bushfires take into account the risks posed by raptors that cause controlled burns to jump across firebreaks, official skepticism about the reality of avian fire-spreading hampers effective planning for landscape management and restoration. Via ethno-ornithological workshops and controlled field experiments with land managers, our collabora…
Basically, I'd trust Bob Gosford. And the folks out bush tend to have a fairly keen understanding of their local ecosystems.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#15So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
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Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#16This is super cool, if a bit scary. Man Australia has it all though, 8/10 of the deadliest spiders, half the deadliest snakes, crocodiles, rockfish, and now firebirds. Inhabiting Australia is a testament to man's arrogance.
Haha, this has been a well-trod rant of mine for years. Don't forget scorpions, vampire bats, great white sharks, and the world's top 4 deadliest jellyfish!
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#17So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
How about:
-art (cave paintings, etc)
-music
it's striking to see 6-12 month old infants bopping up and down to music. They're not taught to do this and I've never heard of animals responding to music...
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#18So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
How about: -art (cave paintings, etc) -music it's striking to see 6-12 month old infants bopping up and down to music. They're not taught to do this and I've never heard of animals responding to music...
There's loads of videos of various parrots bopping and dancing to music. Can't tell if it's learned behavior, but they do it.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#19So we're not the only: - tool-using animal - fire-using animal - language-using animal - animal which domesticates other animals - animal which builds complex structures Aha! I know! We're the only animal which continually comes up with reasons why we're special.
But we're the only one who can do all this and more. It's a bit silly to argue that we're not special, imo.
Re: Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia
#20"Journal of Ethnobiology" "Though Aboriginal rangers and others who deal with bushfires take into account the risks posed by raptors that cause controlled burns to jump across firebreaks, official skepticism about the reality of avian fire-spreading hampers effective planning for landscape management and restoration. Via ethno-ornithological workshops and controlled field experiments with land managers, our collabora…
Basically, I'd trust Bob Gosford. And the folks out bush tend to have a fairly keen understanding of their local ecosystems.
This may be a personal failing on my part - argument from personal incredulity as Dawkins puts it - but the idea of a bird intentionally carrying fire instead of fleeing it seems a bit odd.
See also http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-03/smart-bushfire-birds/7...:
> Mr Gosford said he had never actually seen a bird at a fire front, intentionally spreading the fire.
> So he said he decided to appeal to people to come forward if they had seen birds behaving in that way.
> Mr Gosford said he received 16 firsthand accounts from people who said they had witnessed birds spreading bushfires to flush out prey.
> ...
> He said he hoped by filming birds spreading fires, others would see how valuable Aboriginal knowledge could be to the broader community.
It seems Mr. Gosford shares my desire to see a video of the birds in action. And hasn't been able to produce one yet.