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That's the usual scene
in the Australian outback.

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Birds, late afternoon sun.

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The tank, trough, the cattle yard,

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and the centre of it all,
the windmill.

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It's the core of it.

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It's the heart of the whole enterprise
of this outback country,

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the development of it.

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And would you believe

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the very symbol of success
in this country

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is also the symbol
for death and destruction

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for the native fauna and for
the whole Australian environment?

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No. 9 Well

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on the Canning Stock Route.

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1,600km north to south,
Falls Creek to Wiluna.

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Very important place,
particularly this No. 9 Well.

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Historian, naturalists
and pastoralists.

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And its real importance
is that this place,

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once a very important
watering place to the Aboriginals,

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is the extreme edge
of the pastoral country.

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Beyond here is desert,
not used by white man.

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Back this way is exploited land.

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And this is the edge, and the edge
effect may give us some answers

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as to why so many of the animals
in this apparently untouched country

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have vanished forever.

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Apparently untouched,

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but this carries thousands of cattle in
a good season,

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even though it's only one head,
or one cow,

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per 100 acres or thereabouts.

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It's a long way
from any particular place.

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Drive through the Meekatharra
on a good, sealed road

31
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because that serves
the cattle country and the mines

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and then it's a beef road
out to Wiluna

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and from Wiluna,
a desert track up to No. 9 Well.

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What a mess.
And this is the centre of life.

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Last time I was here,
it was quite different.

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There was a spring,
the tank didn't exist,

37
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the windmill was here,
but it was part of the spring.

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And all of this destruction

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is the result of the use of the land,
which in a good season's OK,

40
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but now it's overuse.

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All of the cattle that live here,

42
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that normally spread over
1,000 hectares in this vicinity

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on little, tiny waterholes -
they've all dried up,

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and the whole lot have
now come in here.

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Why did the fellow put a tank on?
For that very reason.

46
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When the dry season comes,
the cattle walk into the water,

47
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and it's all downhill.

48
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They make their pads and their tracks
and they eat out all the vegetation

49
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and as soon as the rains come,
the water washes down,

50
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fills the waterholes up,
fills the springs up,

51
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and there is no water.

52
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And so to save the cattle - the tank.

53
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And, of course, that is the death
of many of the native animals.

54
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(SPITS)

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Good water.

56
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Sweet.

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And the basis of life for over
half the animals in this area.

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And also the basis of death.

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If you had the time,

60
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you could sit just with your back
up quietly against the tank,

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couple of branches in front of you,
and all of the birds that drink

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would come in during the day
and drink here.

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But within this very drinking
are the seeds of their own destruction.

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And you might argue

65
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that this permanent water,
that the pastoralist has put in,

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supports an enormous number of birds.

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But the birds that drink water
are seed-eating birds primarily.

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And they can only fly
a certain range around here.

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And they're in direct competition with
the cattle and the sheep.

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And what happens
is that all of this country

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is eaten out and trodden out
and bared and blowing with wind,

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the seed is gone,

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and so each day the birds
have to go further and further out.

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And this distance from here to food
and back to water

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becomes more and more attenuated

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until the time comes
when suddenly they can't make it.

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And then they die.

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Under normal circumstances,

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even if everything did die
it wouldn't matter

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because nature would replenish
from the surrounding areas.

81
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But if everything dies here now
in a bitter drought,

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if everything dries up
and desiccates and blows away,

83
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the moment the rains come,

84
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the first animals back
are the introduced stock,

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because they're brought in by man.

86
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Man's own improvements causes, again,
the total destruction of the area.

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It's almost
a complete contradiction in terms.

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Imagine water,
the very essence of life, to us,

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being the thing
that destroys animals.

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Not very pretty, is it?

91
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But wherever you go in this country -
the harshness of it -

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death is commonplace.

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Corpses, all of the things

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that go with death and desolation
and destruction.

95
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The four 'D's -
they all go with 'desert', I suppose.

96
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And everywhere you look,
you find dead animals

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caused by drought mostly,

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because every time
an animal like this dies -

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this is a water-dependent animal.

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The water dried up,

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it had built up here,
where it didn't normally live,

102
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the water had disappeared,
and the animals die from thirst.

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This animal then died
as a direct result of the competition

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from man's grazing animals.

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The cattle and sheep
on this fringe country,

106
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which in the good seasons build up
in numbers and overload the country,

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graze out,

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competing with these animals, which
have the added water, of course,

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so they build up in numbers
in good seasons too.

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And when the crunch comes, when
the drought comes and the water goes,

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there's still food,
but it's so far from the water

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that they can't make it
to food and back again.

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And yet their death
adds to the life of something else,

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because underneath this corpse -

115
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look at this.

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All of the bodies of the things
that lived on the corpse.

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There's blowflies and there's
bacon beetles, or dermestids.

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Ah.

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And in there - that's a bitey.

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Centipede.

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Now, he lives
on the larvae of the insects

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that live on the roo carcass.

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So for every dead animal

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there is survival
for a whole new lot of animals.

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That fellow would be quite bitey
with his head end.

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Unlike other animals,
which sting, these fellows bite.

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Put him back in his hole.
He's not very happy.

128
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I'm not very happy
with him wandering around either

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because they do sting.

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Because of the proximity
of the waterhole

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and the lack of cover in this area,

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even the most casual observer
can see big game...

133
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...and get quite close to them
because of their weakened condition.

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But the art of a naturalist
is to see the non-obvious things.

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Once your eye is in,

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once you know what you're looking for
and how to look,

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there's signs of life everywhere,

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even in this completely desolate area.

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There's a little stump there.
There's a burrow going into it.

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There's a rock here.
There's a burrow going under it.

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One animal can own a whole area.

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Not exactly a territory,
but something like a territory.

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And he'll move around that
at night-time,

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because that's the cool time,

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that's part of his survival technique,

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and when daylight comes, he goes into
the bolthole nearest to him.

147
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So that burrow
and that one and that one

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and that one

149
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possibly all belong to the same animal.

150
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And to find him, you go along
and dig them all out.

151
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But in this case
he's been a bit unlucky.

152
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He must've been getting in late
and he's left a track.

153
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And so we know he's under this one.

154
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Not magic, just observation
and training,

155
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awareness of what you're looking for.

156
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Well, let's have a look at him.

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Can't see him, because his burrow
goes down further.

158
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And he's pushed the dirt
up behind him

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to stop the hot air
going down the burrow after him.

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Dig him - ah, here we are.

161
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Not very deep.

162
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Come on.

163
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Oh, dear. There he is.

164
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This one is called the dragon gecko.

165
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Named after a famous explorer, Bynoe,
who was in the north of the country.

166
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Very attractive animal.

167
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Can't leave him in the sun too long.
It's enough to kill him.

168
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They come out at night.

169
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They can utilise holes in the ground

170
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or they can utilise bark or they can
utilise even cow droppings -

171
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is enough for insulation.

172
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They eat insects,
things like termites,

173
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which also utilise this -

174
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all the little sticks
and the cow droppings are all chewed.

175
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Even kangaroo droppings.
They're chewed by termites.

176
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So there's a whole wealth of food
and it's nice, succulent, juicy food.

177
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And they don't lose water.

178
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Every time we breathe out,
we expel a certain amount of water.

179
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So do other mammals.
But these things don't do it.

180
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And, of course, the cold blood
means that their body temperature

181
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adjusts to
the air temperature around them.

182
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And once they get down to the ground
fairly deep, and it's cool,

183
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they cut down on their food intake.

184
00:13:05,007 --> 00:13:08,247
And when the dry time comes,
if they go down far enough,

185
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they can stay really quiet
for a long time.

186
00:13:11,407 --> 00:13:13,327
So geckos are really,

187
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in spite of their very fragile
and gentle appearance,

188
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are really very fine survivors.

189
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I think we'd better put him back.

190
00:13:23,687 --> 00:13:25,927
But because
we've destroyed his burrow a bit,

191
00:13:25,927 --> 00:13:27,758
we'll give it a bit of a hand.

192
00:13:29,047 --> 00:13:31,847
Dig it out a bit. Put him in.

193
00:13:31,847 --> 00:13:34,647
There you are, little man.
And we'll cover it up.

194
00:13:34,647 --> 00:13:36,160
There.

195
00:13:41,967 --> 00:13:45,004
Different places, different faces.

196
00:13:46,647 --> 00:13:49,878
If we put the log over...

197
00:13:53,047 --> 00:13:55,686
...we can have a look here.

198
00:13:58,967 --> 00:14:00,798
Yes.

199
00:14:02,407 --> 00:14:03,999
Come here, little man.

200
00:14:05,007 --> 00:14:07,047
That's a burrowing skink -

201
00:14:07,047 --> 00:14:09,367
a lizard that's on his way

202
00:14:09,367 --> 00:14:13,007
to becoming just the same
as a legless lizard.

203
00:14:13,007 --> 00:14:15,687
Look at his methods of protection.

204
00:14:15,687 --> 00:14:19,127
Colouration - from above
he's the same colour as the ground,

205
00:14:19,127 --> 00:14:22,244
and from the side he's
the same colour as the ground.

206
00:14:23,447 --> 00:14:27,647
His legs reduced to almost nothing.

207
00:14:27,647 --> 00:14:29,638
Two toes on the back leg.

208
00:14:31,527 --> 00:14:33,767
No toes at all on the front leg.

209
00:14:33,767 --> 00:14:38,687
And a great big long tail,
which, again, is full of food,

210
00:14:38,687 --> 00:14:41,167
full of storage.

211
00:14:41,167 --> 00:14:43,327
Beautiful animal.

212
00:14:43,327 --> 00:14:47,327
One of the specialised
desert inhabitants.

213
00:14:47,327 --> 00:14:51,007
His eyelid has got
a transparent disc in it

214
00:14:51,007 --> 00:14:54,607
that allows him to have his eyes closed
burrowing through sand

215
00:14:54,607 --> 00:14:56,607
and still not get grit in his eyes.

216
00:14:56,607 --> 00:14:59,047
Marvellous adaptation.

217
00:14:59,047 --> 00:15:04,007
Again, he was using
the ground plus the bark,

218
00:15:04,007 --> 00:15:05,807
plus the log itself.

219
00:15:05,807 --> 00:15:08,087
Getting the maximum cover

220
00:15:08,087 --> 00:15:12,327
in this very, very critical level
of existence,

221
00:15:12,327 --> 00:15:14,367
where to make a mistake...

222
00:15:14,367 --> 00:15:18,967
The lethal temperature of the sun will
take out an animal like this

223
00:15:18,967 --> 00:15:20,687
in something like 10 or 12 minutes.

224
00:15:20,687 --> 00:15:22,837
And then he's dead.

225
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Just put this log back.

226
00:15:28,047 --> 00:15:32,802
Like always in the bush,
leave the home intact.

227
00:15:38,927 --> 00:15:41,327
This is a very special hole

228
00:15:41,327 --> 00:15:44,567
and it needs a special technique
to get the animal that makes it.

229
00:15:44,567 --> 00:15:46,797
First job is...

230
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...pour down some water.

231
00:15:52,967 --> 00:15:54,447
The purpose of that

232
00:15:54,447 --> 00:15:59,207
is that the burrow wanders around
under the ground.

233
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And the water follows down quickly.
And so you can follow it.

234
00:16:16,047 --> 00:16:18,038
Ah, and there he is.

235
00:16:23,767 --> 00:16:25,967
That's a scorpion,

236
00:16:25,967 --> 00:16:29,437
a female, by the size of her,
ready to lay eggs.

237
00:16:33,087 --> 00:16:36,127
I've got the dangerous part
in my fingers.

238
00:16:36,127 --> 00:16:38,127
The claws don't matter.

239
00:16:38,127 --> 00:16:41,287
She can use them to nip,
but they don't hurt.

240
00:16:41,287 --> 00:16:42,766
They just close on.

241
00:16:45,447 --> 00:16:51,887
This scorpion, if it stung you, would
make you sick for one or two days.

242
00:16:51,887 --> 00:16:55,327
The really bad one up in this country
is much smaller -

243
00:16:55,327 --> 00:16:56,807
a little tiny thing.

244
00:16:56,807 --> 00:17:00,767
And it can kill.
It has killed people in Australia.

245
00:17:00,767 --> 00:17:04,965
So they're one of the overrated dangers
of the outback country.

246
00:17:06,367 --> 00:17:10,447
If I put her down
on the flat of my hand,

247
00:17:10,447 --> 00:17:12,039
she won't sting.

248
00:17:13,527 --> 00:17:16,447
If my fingers were on the end,
she'd sting that.

249
00:17:16,447 --> 00:17:20,287
She has to sting
something she can reach.

250
00:17:20,287 --> 00:17:24,644
If we just use a stick,
and there's the dangerous part there.

251
00:17:27,407 --> 00:17:29,767
Now, you might think because
I've destroyed this one's burrow

252
00:17:29,767 --> 00:17:31,367
that that's the end of the animal.

253
00:17:31,367 --> 00:17:35,487
Not so, because all we need to do
is put the soil back over

254
00:17:35,487 --> 00:17:39,196
and the animal will then work its way
out tonight and be quite OK.

255
00:17:54,167 --> 00:17:59,007
The popular concept of desert
is empty sand wastes,

256
00:17:59,007 --> 00:18:01,447
Arabs and things like that.

257
00:18:01,447 --> 00:18:04,607
And Australia is mostly desert.

258
00:18:04,607 --> 00:18:06,247
But our deserts are quite different.

259
00:18:06,247 --> 00:18:09,167
Stone, gibbers,

260
00:18:09,167 --> 00:18:10,727
salt flats,

261
00:18:10,727 --> 00:18:13,247
sand and rock.

262
00:18:13,247 --> 00:18:18,967
And this rock is the greatest reservoir
of wildlife

263
00:18:18,967 --> 00:18:20,927
in the whole desert area.

264
00:18:20,927 --> 00:18:24,556
It's called breakaway,
and it's got everything.

265
00:18:44,447 --> 00:18:47,807
Of all the desolate areas
in this desolate landscape,

266
00:18:47,807 --> 00:18:50,287
this has got to be the worst.

267
00:18:50,287 --> 00:18:52,167
The tops of these breakaways,

268
00:18:52,167 --> 00:18:55,767
where water runs off,
wind howls across,

269
00:18:55,767 --> 00:18:58,607
and yet there are still
things living here.

270
00:18:58,607 --> 00:19:00,167
Like this bush.

271
00:19:00,167 --> 00:19:02,087
A little mulga.

272
00:19:02,087 --> 00:19:03,887
At least,
it looks like a little mulga.

273
00:19:03,887 --> 00:19:07,287
But in the mulga family
it's one of the real old men.

274
00:19:07,287 --> 00:19:12,527
It's almost died dozens of times
in its 300 years of living.

275
00:19:12,527 --> 00:19:15,287
That's right - 300 years.

276
00:19:15,287 --> 00:19:19,647
This bush has been bonsaied
by the extreme elements.

277
00:19:19,647 --> 00:19:23,207
Its cousins down on the flat
are 20 feet high,

278
00:19:23,207 --> 00:19:25,047
where they get the good conditions.

279
00:19:25,047 --> 00:19:30,567
But up here, the struggle is such that
it's formed and shaped

280
00:19:30,567 --> 00:19:32,367
and it'll never reach more than that.

281
00:19:32,367 --> 00:19:33,847
If it gets a bit bigger,

282
00:19:33,847 --> 00:19:36,767
the wind is able to get under it
and flip it over.

283
00:19:36,767 --> 00:19:40,047
So every part of this land is used.

284
00:19:40,047 --> 00:19:42,127
Even these bare tops -

285
00:19:42,127 --> 00:19:47,042
something takes root and holds
and begins to change the whole thing.

286
00:19:54,447 --> 00:19:56,567
(SNIFFS)

287
00:19:56,567 --> 00:19:59,127
(SIGHS) What a lovely thing.

288
00:20:02,127 --> 00:20:04,007
Australian sandalwood,

289
00:20:04,007 --> 00:20:09,684
a stunted little tree that grows right
across the dry country.

290
00:20:11,927 --> 00:20:16,727
Enormous trade between China,
Singapore and Australia

291
00:20:16,727 --> 00:20:18,207
in the early days.

292
00:20:18,207 --> 00:20:20,207
This wood was very valuable

293
00:20:20,207 --> 00:20:24,687
and people came out and they pulled
the trees out with horses and wagons.

294
00:20:24,687 --> 00:20:26,887
And they only left
these little plants.

295
00:20:26,887 --> 00:20:31,207
Anything with a trunk smaller than that
was left in the ground.

296
00:20:31,207 --> 00:20:33,927
But the leaves are very succulent.

297
00:20:33,927 --> 00:20:36,727
And the cattle like them.
So do sheep.

298
00:20:36,727 --> 00:20:40,367
And you can see this bush has been
really chopped about by cattle.

299
00:20:40,367 --> 00:20:42,517
They've broken the branches down...

300
00:20:43,527 --> 00:20:46,287
...getting at the foliage.

301
00:20:46,287 --> 00:20:48,847
Sandalwood is a tree
that bears a fruit -

302
00:20:48,847 --> 00:20:51,047
a nut, about that size.

303
00:20:51,047 --> 00:20:55,359
And it was the staple diet of one
animal, the stick-nest rat.

304
00:20:56,727 --> 00:21:01,127
Because this is rocky country
and because there's sandalwood here,

305
00:21:01,127 --> 00:21:04,127
it's very likely there are
stick-nest rats in the area,

306
00:21:04,127 --> 00:21:05,640
or were at one time.

307
00:21:33,807 --> 00:21:36,196
First sign of spring in the desert.

308
00:21:37,207 --> 00:21:41,917
The first animals to move
are the big carnivorous reptiles.

309
00:21:44,407 --> 00:21:46,363
(HISSING)

310
00:21:48,407 --> 00:21:51,247
(HISSING)

311
00:21:51,247 --> 00:21:52,727
Come on.

312
00:21:52,727 --> 00:21:55,847
(HISSES)

313
00:21:55,847 --> 00:21:57,917
(CHUCKLES)

314
00:22:00,487 --> 00:22:02,287
Beautiful thing.

315
00:22:02,287 --> 00:22:05,967
This is the perentie, the pontowai
of the Aboriginal people.

316
00:22:05,967 --> 00:22:07,687
The black lizard.

317
00:22:07,687 --> 00:22:09,447
It's a goanna.

318
00:22:09,447 --> 00:22:14,487
Been in aestivation, sleeping,
for the cool time of the year.

319
00:22:14,487 --> 00:22:16,167
Just moving now.

320
00:22:16,167 --> 00:22:17,647
Shedding skin.

321
00:22:17,647 --> 00:22:21,401
Peeling off, little bits
flaking away on the tail.

322
00:22:25,367 --> 00:22:27,527
Badly infested with ticks.

323
00:22:27,527 --> 00:22:32,123
Probably got onto him during
the period while he was dormant.

324
00:22:34,127 --> 00:22:36,516
And fairly skinny.

325
00:22:37,967 --> 00:22:41,437
Yes, hasn't got much condition.
He hasn't started to eat yet.

326
00:22:43,207 --> 00:22:46,047
Probably because
they're a big, active animal,

327
00:22:46,047 --> 00:22:48,647
they need their food
more than the others.

328
00:22:48,647 --> 00:22:51,487
Even though they can go
for a long period without,

329
00:22:51,487 --> 00:22:53,287
they do need it more than others.

330
00:22:53,287 --> 00:22:56,607
True goanna, of course,
with the forked tongue.

331
00:22:56,607 --> 00:22:59,997
That's how you tell them.
Lovely fellow.

332
00:23:01,847 --> 00:23:05,487
The really noticeable thing
about this landscape

333
00:23:05,487 --> 00:23:07,287
is the number of reptiles on it.

334
00:23:07,287 --> 00:23:09,247
Wherever you go -

335
00:23:09,247 --> 00:23:13,847
the tops of the hills, the sand plains,
under the bark of trees,

336
00:23:13,847 --> 00:23:15,327
you find reptiles.

337
00:23:15,327 --> 00:23:18,607
They seem to be specially adapted
to this condition.

338
00:23:18,607 --> 00:23:21,967
And I think it's probably
because of their cold-bloodedness.

339
00:23:21,967 --> 00:23:25,647
For half of the year, at least,
when the temperatures are cold,

340
00:23:25,647 --> 00:23:27,807
they're away in hiding.

341
00:23:27,807 --> 00:23:31,047
And for the other half of the year,
they have a period of activity.

342
00:23:31,047 --> 00:23:32,607
They're not water-dependent.

343
00:23:32,607 --> 00:23:35,447
The foods they eat
are available all the time -

344
00:23:35,447 --> 00:23:40,127
insects, white ants, other lizards,
all those sort of things.

345
00:23:40,127 --> 00:23:42,487
And so they survive extremely well.

346
00:23:42,487 --> 00:23:45,607
The hotter it gets,
the faster they get.

347
00:23:45,607 --> 00:23:47,327
Well, up to a point.

348
00:23:47,327 --> 00:23:49,607
There are lethal temperatures
for these animals.

349
00:23:49,607 --> 00:23:52,887
And each one
has his own lethal temperature.

350
00:23:52,887 --> 00:23:56,207
Goannas have got
the highest range of all.

351
00:23:56,207 --> 00:23:59,007
They can stand very hot temperatures.

352
00:23:59,007 --> 00:24:00,727
But if it gets too hot,

353
00:24:00,727 --> 00:24:03,607
this fellow would probably
find his way over to a water trough,

354
00:24:03,607 --> 00:24:06,207
or a spring or a pool somewhere

355
00:24:06,207 --> 00:24:08,247
and plunge in
and just lie in the water

356
00:24:08,247 --> 00:24:09,967
with just his nostrils sticking up.

357
00:24:09,967 --> 00:24:11,647
And he'll stay there and soak.

358
00:24:11,647 --> 00:24:13,207
And then he'll probably feed

359
00:24:13,207 --> 00:24:15,038
on a zebra finch
or something that comes in.

360
00:24:19,287 --> 00:24:21,207
Beautiful animals, though.

361
00:24:21,207 --> 00:24:23,198
Very fond of goannas.

362
00:24:26,927 --> 00:24:30,966
Look how sluggish he is.
Really cold still.

363
00:24:36,927 --> 00:24:40,807
When the heat is really on,

364
00:24:40,807 --> 00:24:46,087
these caves are the final refuge
for the animals in this desert area.

365
00:24:46,087 --> 00:24:48,887
The caves go well back

366
00:24:48,887 --> 00:24:53,687
and stop the wind taking away the air
and drying animals out.

367
00:24:53,687 --> 00:24:57,207
And that great, thick rock visor
above the caves

368
00:24:57,207 --> 00:24:59,641
stops the penetration of the sun.

369
00:25:09,687 --> 00:25:12,440
This one looks like
it might have been a dingo's lair.

370
00:25:14,727 --> 00:25:16,327
A few chewed bones.

371
00:25:16,327 --> 00:25:18,761
Deep hole.

372
00:25:22,807 --> 00:25:24,957
Oh. Just a minute.

373
00:25:38,047 --> 00:25:41,357
Yeah. These are owl pellets.

374
00:25:42,847 --> 00:25:49,207
These pellets are the bones and fur
that the animals don't eat.

375
00:25:49,207 --> 00:25:52,087
They're brought up. They're thrown up
from the owl's throat.

376
00:25:52,087 --> 00:25:56,046
There's the skull, for instance,
of a native rodent in that one.

377
00:26:01,527 --> 00:26:05,167
There's the bones and skull
of another native rodent.

378
00:26:05,167 --> 00:26:08,000
There's the jawbone
of a marsupial mouse.

379
00:26:09,007 --> 00:26:13,285
Little tiny mice that are carnivores,
like native cats.

380
00:26:15,727 --> 00:26:19,287
But there's not much point
in trying to sort this out here.

381
00:26:19,287 --> 00:26:22,287
That's something that is
far better done in the camp.

382
00:26:22,287 --> 00:26:25,767
So all of that material
can go back with me.

383
00:26:25,767 --> 00:26:28,486
I'll just bag it.

384
00:26:35,007 --> 00:26:39,207
Imagine getting enthusiastic
about this stuff - owl pellets.

385
00:26:39,207 --> 00:26:42,199
And yet I am, for very good reason.

386
00:26:45,287 --> 00:26:48,847
It doesn't look much,
unless you're a scientist,

387
00:26:48,847 --> 00:26:51,727
but that's a bandicoot jaw.

388
00:26:51,727 --> 00:26:54,527
And no bandicoots have been seen
anywhere in this country

389
00:26:54,527 --> 00:26:57,644
for something like 90 years.

390
00:26:59,887 --> 00:27:04,407
And the last, very ordinary looking
piece of bone.

391
00:27:04,407 --> 00:27:08,647
But from its size and shape
it can only belong to one thing -

392
00:27:08,647 --> 00:27:10,683
the stick-nest rat.

393
00:27:11,807 --> 00:27:13,927
Now, by the time you add that

394
00:27:13,927 --> 00:27:17,487
to the chewed nuts

395
00:27:17,487 --> 00:27:20,087
that we found occasionally
along the breakaway,

396
00:27:20,087 --> 00:27:21,967
it adds up to one thing.

397
00:27:21,967 --> 00:27:23,480
There's sandalwood here.

398
00:27:24,647 --> 00:27:27,687
There's bones here
that could be recent.

399
00:27:27,687 --> 00:27:31,567
And it means the possibility
of these animals still being here

400
00:27:31,567 --> 00:27:33,367
is pretty high.

401
00:27:33,367 --> 00:27:36,687
And so it's most important
to go back to do two things -

402
00:27:36,687 --> 00:27:39,167
to finish getting out
that owl deposit,

403
00:27:39,167 --> 00:27:40,647
if there's any more bone there,

404
00:27:40,647 --> 00:27:44,003
and to look for a stick-nest rat.

405
00:28:05,207 --> 00:28:08,487
Being a naturalist
is a lot of hard work.

406
00:28:08,487 --> 00:28:12,087
Every once in a while
you get a break.

407
00:28:12,087 --> 00:28:14,476
In this case, this.

408
00:28:15,887 --> 00:28:18,847
An animal that's thought
to be extinct,

409
00:28:18,847 --> 00:28:21,047
is regarded as extinct,

410
00:28:21,047 --> 00:28:24,407
and yet in this area

411
00:28:24,407 --> 00:28:28,167
there are green, fresh leaves,

412
00:28:28,167 --> 00:28:32,683
which means this nest has been
in use within the last five years.

413
00:28:33,687 --> 00:28:36,527
The stick-nest rat.
Obvious, isn't it?

414
00:28:36,527 --> 00:28:38,324
That's a real stick nest.

415
00:28:39,327 --> 00:28:42,567
The report of that will now have to go
back to the museum.

416
00:28:42,567 --> 00:28:45,767
And through the museum,
proper scientific investigation

417
00:28:45,767 --> 00:28:48,207
and survey of this area

418
00:28:48,207 --> 00:28:52,847
will tell us whether the animal
is still alive or not.

419
00:28:52,847 --> 00:28:55,839
(THEME MUSIC)