FAUNA RESCUE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC. KELLY'S LAST STAND By Pip Burbidge Sheila , as a lizard coordinator, is used to calls from people who do not share any sort of love affair with these creatures and want no part of them. (No, L.J. I won't mention any names!!!) Sometimes the only option is to humanely remove and relocate them, obviously a job for the man in the house. As the lady was only a short distance away, off I went. Kelly as we will know him, had made his home in the sun room. It had been built on and had a roof downpipe in the corner on the opposite side from the door, with a shallow drain going to a hole which went out somewhere to the garden. The hole was about 4cm deep and became a tunnel. Kelly would climb up from the tunnel, proceed up the drain and sunbathe in the room by the downpipe. The problem was distance. As soon as you entered the room Kelly would take off and go down the hole in the blink of an eye.You will never catch him, the good lady said gloomily. I cannot use this room while he lives here. Leave it to me I said , trying to put my brains into a forward mode. I used a piece of PVC pipe, fixed a container that fitted over the hole on to the end of the pipe, and hid behind a potted fern . It was hot and airless in the room and Kelly did not show himself for the first hour, then only his head emerged. I willed his body to follow but no luck, after about another hour he retreated and did not come back. Obviously he could sense I was near. Told you so said the good lady as I returned home. However Fauna Rescue is made of sterner stuff. I returned next morning with a long length of PVC pipe which went from the door right over to the other side of the room and next to the hole. Tell me when you next see him I said. She phoned at 3 oclock that he was basking again, so I returned to the house, crept to the door , jerked the pipe and covered the hole. Kelly never made it down the hole. I captured him looking for an escape route, popped him in our special animals basket and Sheila released him by our rockery, after checking he was fit and healthy. The lady lived in Kelly Road (hence my name for him) and the praises of Fauna Rescue will no doubt be sung for some time to all her friends and neighbours as she was so delighted at getting her room back! For my part I like to feel Kelly did quite well on his change of home and concluded that finding ways of outfoxing some of our native creatures beats doing crosswords any day! |
