Citizendia
Your Ad Here

David Howells Fleay (6 January 1907 Ballarat, Victoria – 7 August 1993) was an Australian naturalist who pioneered the captive breeding of endangered species, and was the first person to captive breed the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat" is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods See Breed (song for the song by Nirvana. See Breed (video game for the video game by Brat Designs An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation The Platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi- aquatic Mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.

Contents

Early years

Fleay had an aesthetic upbringing: His mother, Maude Glover Fleay, had studied painting under Fred McCubbin; his father, William Henry Fleay, was a manufacturing chemist in Ballarat. Frederick McCubbin ( 25 February, 1855 – 20 December, 1917) was an Australian painter who was prominent in the famous A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. After education at a state primary school and later a private high school, Ballarat Grammar School, Fleay was first employed in his fathers chemist shop and then was briefly a teacher at Ballarat Grammar. Ballarat Grammar School is an independent Anglican Church school located at Wendouree ( Ballarat) Victoria 123km west of Melbourne

He left for Melbourne in 1927 to study for a Bachelor of Science degree and Diploma of Education at Melbourne University. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. There, he met another student, Mary Sigrid Collie, and they married in 1931, the same year that Fleay graduated having majored in Zoology, Botany and Education. Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency He was employed as a teacher in Ballarat until 1934.

Work in Natural Science

Fleay's interest in the natural world coincided with the awakening of scientific interest in endangered species, and the realisation by the public that Australian animals were worthy of attention other than as a source of food.

He realised the importance of endangered species early in his career when, in 1933, he was the last person to photograph a captive thylacine or Tasmanian tiger at the Hobart Zoo. The Thylacine (ˈθaɪləsaɪn -iːn ( Thylacinus cynocephalus Latin wolf-headed pouched dog was the largest known carnivorous Marsupial of modern Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. In the process he was bitten on the buttocks, the scar from the injury carried proudly throughout his life. The buttocks (singular buttock) are rounded portions of the anatomy located on the posterior of the Pelvic region of the Apes including Humans

In 1934, Fleay was asked to design and establish the Australian animal section at Melbourne Zoo, and worked there for 4 years. The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 350 animal species from Australia and around the world During this time he had several scientific achievements, including the first breeding in captivity of the Emu, several bird species including the Tawny Frogmouth, and marsupials including the Koala. The Emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae, is the largest Bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the Genus The Tawny Frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is an Australian variety of Frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland Tasmania Marsupials are an Infraclass of Mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium) in which females carry their young through The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus is a thickset Arboreal Marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant He also commenced research into the breeding habits of the platypus. His next public education efforts were nature talks on a Melbourne radio station, in 1937. Later that year, disagreements with the zoo's management came to a head and Fleay was dismissed, principally because of his belief that native birds and animals should be fed what they would eat in the wild.

In 1962 Fleay cofounded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland with Judith Wright, Brian Clouston and Kathleen McArthur. The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland is a Queensland based conservation organisation Judith Arundell Wright ( 31 May 1915 &mdash 26 June 2000) was an Australian Poet, Environmentalist and campaigner Brian Clouston is a British landscape architect, and founder of Brian Clouston and Partners (BCP once the largest landscape architecture practice in Europe Kathleen McArthur (1915-2001 was an Australian naturalist, Writer, Wildflower Artist and conservationist.

Healesville Sanctuary

Coincidentally, the Healesville Sanctuary some 90km from Melbourne was in need of a director and he was appointed. Healesville Sanctuary, or the Sir Colin MacKenzie Fauna Park, is a Zoo specializing in native Australian animals The animals there included quolls, Tasmanian devils, dingoes and various birds of prey, to which he added tiger snakes that were milked for antivenene, and platypus. Quolls or native cats (genus Dasyurus) are Carnivorous Marsupials native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Tasmanian Devil ( Sarcophilus harrisii) also referred to simply as "the devil" is a carnivorous Marsupial now found in the wild only in Description Appearance Adult dingoes are typically 48–58 cm (19–23 inches tall at the shoulders and weigh on average 23–32 kgs (50–70 pounds though specimens Tiger snakes are a type of venomous serpent found in southern regions of Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. Antivenin (or antivenom or antivenene) is a biological product used in the treatment of venomous bites or stings Many animals were housed in large paddock-like areas with swing-weighted gates so that visitors could freely interact with the animals. He also conducted daily 'feeding' displays of the platypusses. The Platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi- aquatic Mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.

His greatest achievement at Healesville was in 1943, when he bred the first platypus in captivity. His platypussary (platypus enclosure) incorporated features of their native streams. On about 5 November 1943, "Corrie" was born. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. No-one other than Fleay successfully bred and reared a platypus until 1998 when Healseville Sanctuary again had success. Since then, breeding has occurred only twice more: at Healesville and Taronga Zoo (twins). Taronga Zoo is the city Zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

In 1947, he took three platypuses to New York for the Bronx Zoo where they occupied a platypussary built to his specifications. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous This article is about the zoo for the TV series see The Bronx Zoo (TV series; for the book "The Bronx Zoo" about the Yankees see Sparky Lyle, its He studied animal husbandry at various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries across the U.S.A., returning to Healesville in October to discover that the Board had dismissed him for supposed unauthorised donations of animals to various foreign zoos. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the While untrue, this caused considerable hurt: He was demoted and remained at Healesville as a consultant.

He was also keeping a private collection of animals, but in 1951 the Government of Victoria legislated to prevent private individuals from charging fees for the public to see animal collections. This caused him to decide to move the collection.

Burleigh, Queensland

Main article: David Fleay Wildlife Park

After extensive research, the Tallebudgera Estuary in the hinterland behind Burleigh on the Gold Coast in Queensland was selected, the reasons including that it offered an untouched natural habitat for koalas apart from already having cleared areas (then farmland) for development of animal enclosures. The David Fleay Wildlife Park is located in Burleigh Heads, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Burleigh Heads is a suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. This article is about the Australian city Gold Coast For other uses see Gold Coast. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent The Fleays gradually acquired land and by 1958 had enclosures for people to see platypuses, snakes, dingoes, plain turkeys, ospreys, crocodiles and alligators; in contrast, bandicoots, flying foxes, sea eagles, wallabies and koalas, were free to visit from adjoining the forest. However, his focus was on the scientific study of the animals.

The area also included middens used by earlier generations of the Gold Coast's Kombumerri Aboriginal people. A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap, is a dump for domestic waste. This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law Fleay retained these heritage areas, and maintained good relationships with the Kombumerri.

The animals were fed partly from donations from local bakers and butchers, with local residents donating dead animals to feed the owls (or the goannas if it was no longer fresh); mice and rats were collected frequently from the McKerras Research Institute behind the hospital; worms were collected fresh daily for the platypuses; eels, pigeons and flying foxes were also killed to provide food for the owls, snakes and crocodiles.

Injured or sick animals from as far away as New Guinea and Central Queensland were accommodated at the sanctuary. Those that lived were kept for research or breeding; native animals, when recovered, were released into the wild; deceased animals were fed to the survivors.

In 1982, 37 acres (150,000 m²) of the land owned by David and Sigrid Fleay was sold to the Queensland Government and became a Conservation Park. The following year, the 20 acre (81,000 m²) main Fauna Reserve with its animal enclosures was also sold to the Government. The remainder of the site 7. 5 acres (30,000 m²) was transferred in 1985. Under the terms of this arrangement, David and Sigrid Fleay continued to live and work at the park: In 1983 it closed for 5 years for redevelopment and re-opened in 1988. The government retains the property as the David Fleay Wildlife Park. The David Fleay Wildlife Park is located in Burleigh Heads, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Achievements

Honours

Fleay's Barred Frog (Mixophyes fleayi) was named after David Fleay.
Fleay's Barred Frog (Mixophyes fleayi) was named after David Fleay. The Fleay's Barred Frog ( Mixophyes fleayi) is a large species of frog restricted to small pockets of rainforest in northern New South Wales and south-eastern

Animals bearing his name

Publications

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic