Conserving the Territory : six stories for publication, prepared for N.T. Conservation Commission
by Wendy Kirke
Kirke, Wendy
E-Publications; E-Books; PublicationNT
1981-08-01
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
Date:1981-08
English
Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory; Administrative agencies -- Australia
Kirke, Wendy
Darwin
1 volume (various paging) ; 30 cm.
application/pdf.
Check within Publication or with content Publisher.
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/247439
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/577206
4 EACH SPECIES COUNTS CONT. Such qualities in the personalities of the Territory buffalo do not lend themselves immediately to extensive herd husbandry. But it could well be that we do one day breed with sufficient selection to mould personality charactistics which would make for easier and more efficient management. . .. - - -~ ---- .. . . ----- - .... . The detrimental environmental impact of the buffalo in the Top End causes considerable concern. However, with such a potential food source and industry, perseverance in breeding and management techniques could one day be most rewarding. . The Conservation Commission is well aware of this. To carry out effective research the beast must exist in a controlled capacity in the field to p~ovide the basic resource with which to work. We need to bear in mind, though, that the buffalo is a feral animal and must be managed as such. When we talk of breeding to mould personality traits we are entering . the relatively new field of genetic engineering. Who knows, .but one day, even our salty old farm crocodiles might have surprisingly pleasant personalitiesl The saltwater crocodile is the most prized of the twentysix world species; and yet just a few years ago it was thought to be nearing extinction. The protection progr~a of the last decade is now paying off, though, and the Territory's first crocodile farming project is now well under way. Stock for the farm is taken at regular intervals from the wild, where there must always be a reliable. gene