The Australian Bite

Saving the phascogale and music for the bionic ear

23 July 2010

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On The Australian Bite this week with Nadia Hume, we learn about the endangered red-tailed phascogale, a peculiar mouse-sized creature with bizarre mating habits and a penchant for leaping between trees. And we’ll meet the organisation that’s attempting to boost their dwindling numbers. Also, wild dogs are causing hundreds of millions of dollars damage to Australia’s livestock sector. And we’ll meet an experimental musician who is trying to bring music to the ears of the cochlear implant user.

Saving the red-tailed phascogale

The red-tailed phascogale is a carnivorous Australian marsupial that was once common all over Australia but is now an endangered species found only in a small area in the southwest corner of Western Australia. Red-tailed phascogale males live for less than a year, dying soon after a period of frenzied mating. The female lives for about 3 years and in that time will most likely produce one litter of about 6 young which will stay in her pouch for 7 weeks. We meet Doug Humann from the not-for-profit organisation, Bush Heritage Australia, who is trying to boost the numbers of these tiny creatures. Also, Steve Prothero a volunteer with Bush Heritage Australia, talks about his experience when he took his family to an outback reserve in central Queensland.

www.bushheritage.org.au

Music to the ears of cochlear implant users

Cochlear implants have improved the lives of over 200-thousand deaf or hearing impaired since the first implant in the 1980′s. But while the miracle of hearing is a blessing, when it comes to listening to music for cochlear users it’s a mess. However, all that may be about to change. Scientists from the Bionic Ear Institute in Melbourne have teamed up with a group of CI users and a bunch of muso’s to see if it’s possible to make music that can be appreciated by someone with an implant. Research Assistant Hamish Innes-Brown from the Bionic Ear Institute in Melbourne told The Australian Bite how it’s going to work.

www.bionicear.org/research/Music_perception.html

www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack

Wild dogs put the bite on farmers

Australia has a wild dog population that is continuing to grow at an alarming rate despite millions of dollars from state governments to bring the dogs under control. These dogs are causing hundreds of millions of dollars damage each year to the livestock industry and in Queensland there’s concern the problem is so “out of control” that the state’s sheep and wool sector is in jeopardy. David Counsell from the Barcaldine Wild Dog Management Committee tells us more.

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