Environment Matters Spring/Summer 2022

Mystery of the headless hares

When Marina from Lanefield found a headless hare under her gazebo it sparked a quest to unmask the mystery culprit...

THE SCENE

THE SUSPECTS

Suspect 1: The Powerful Owl

Suspect 2: The Fox

Suspect 3: The Feral Cat

Nestled behind the Bluff, Marina’s property is connected to an important refuge for wildlife and is part of the Little Liverpool Range corridor. The property is part of council’s Landholder Conservation Partnerships Program. “Living here there are wedge-tailed eagles, brown hawks, black-shouldered kites and sparrowhawks. The sounds and sightings never cease to amaze me and, in this case, confuse me!” Marina said. “Finding a headless hare was a mystery. My yard is fully fenced and my gentle old dog shows no interest in wildlife.”

When a second headless hare appeared five days later it prompted Marina to call council’s Landholder Conservation Partnerships team for back-up. Motion-sensor cameras and a wildlife acoustic monitoring device were installed. The technology detected the distinct call of the Powerful Owl species, a top native predator that requires plenty of food and large tree hollows to flourish. Powerful Owls tend to take their prey to a protected area like a tree branch. Their hand-sized talons can break the neck of a possum and the owl can take off the head in one bite.

It is also possible the culprit was a feral cat or fox – those introduced pests are capable of leaving half- eaten headless hares. The mystery may never be solved with certainty but Marina is just happy that another amazing native species calls her property home. “Since the event I’ve spotted a bandicoot carcass over a tree branch, I’m always on the lookout,” Marina said. “As a property owner, life is full of problem solving, wonder and the occasional mystery. How fortunate I am to have the Landholder Conservation Partnerships team by my side.”

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