Crocodiles and Jellyfish are coming to get you — stay safe, install solar now!

Oh the dilemma. When faced with a crocodile do you get out a gun or put up a windmill?

It could be that natural cycles change animal habitats as they have for millions of years. It could be that we made crocodiles a protected species and stopped hunting and killing the wild ones in Queensland from 1974, but whatever, it must be climate, climate, climate. Buy an EV and stop the spread of crocodiles!

ABC “Science” By environment reporter Nick Kilvert

The chances of limiting climate change appear to be growing slimmer by the day — and this may have big implications for Australia’s wildlife.

Recently a number of crocodiles have been trapped in the Mary River, just 105 kilometres north of Noosa and 250km south of their usual range.

Irukandji jellyfish too, appear to be expanding south, with 10 suspected stings near Fraser Island and a child stung at Mooloolaba last year.

Numerous tropical fish have been recorded up to 1,000 kilometres south of their traditional range, such as the Great Barrier Reef’s lemon-peel angelfish which turned up on Lord Howe Island in 2009, and habitat-modifying sea urchins have landed in Tasmania.

According to Climate Action Tracker (CAT), the world is not reducing emissions sufficiently to limit warming to below 2 degrees.

So how will warming of 2 degrees affect the distribution of Australian animals?

Will we have crocodiles sunning themselves on the beaches at Noosa and Irukandji in Byron Bay? And what happens when rare species clinging to mountain tops run out of room to climb?

Or maybe there are just lots more crocs since we don’t shoot them anymore?

…there is uncertainty about whether the recent instances of crocodiles in southern waters is climate related or due to increasing numbers.

Crocodile populations have dramatically recovered from the brink of extinction since the 1970s, and the need for new territory may push some individuals to move outside their natural range.

A Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) spokesperson said they currently “don’t have evidence” to suggest crocodiles are expanding south.

Jellyfish are coming, spreading and deadly because “climate”

It was cooler in 1970 for reasons climate models don’t understand, but if you compare a naturally cooler part of recent history to a naturally warmer time, it’s clear (like sump water) that the cause is coal plants, cars and air conditioners.

Despite there being limited knowledge of Irukandji biology, toxinologist associate professor Jamie Seymour from JCU who has studied them extensively, said they were already responding to warming conditions.

“If you go back 50 years ago, you find that the [stinger] season was around two months long. Now the season is about six to seven months long,” he said.

“We looked at how far south the stings were 50 years ago and they were around about the Whitsundays. And we looked at where we’re getting stings now, which is the southern end of Fraser Island.”

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]

please wait... Rating: 9.3/10 (48 votes cast)