Our Wonderful History

When the English settlers first arrived in Australia, they found the country overrun by huge rats. Horrified, they set about eradicating them by clubbing them to death. These animals were in fact Potoroos, now extinct in the wild.

In the 1920's a delicacy in the market for feasting on as Sunday roast, bought in bundles of one dozen, were brush-tailed Bettongs. Then as numerous as rabbits, now sadly extinct in SA in the wild.

These marvelous "rat kangaroos" actually plant their own gardens. They bite seeds to crack their outer shell to assist with germination, dig a small hole and stomp the earth down with their hind feet. In a few weeks they are able to reap the fruits of their harvest. I had a beautiful crop of sunflowers that they planted in my front yard.

What a sad track record we have to follow.

Today, in our wisdom and superior knowledge, we treat our most intelligent marsupial as vermin to be eradicated - the brush tail possum. Have we not learned anything from our ancestors' mistakes? Will we be shocked when this wonderful animal is also declared extinct? Along with the hairy nosed wombats, the rainbow lorikeets, etc.

Copyright 2007

Minton Farm
Animal Rescue Centre