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NEWS
Five bird-eating barra' to 20kg removed from Feathers Sanctuary
But the donated 'mega barra' are a boost for Howard Springs Nature Park 35 clicks out of DarwinFive huge barra have been released at Howard Springs Nature Park after their tendency to hassle birds forced their eviction from a local bird sanctuary.
Minister for Parks and Wildlife Bess Price said she was excited about the donation of the five barramundi to boost the stock at the Howard Springs Nature Park.
“The fish were interfering with attempts to breed some of the waterbirds at Feathers Sanctuary and the owner wanted to move them and suggested Howard Springs Nature Park as a possible new home,” Mrs Price said.
“Howard Springs Nature Park is a popular place for locals and tourists to picnic and relax, and now they can enjoy the thrill of seeing the five giant barra swimming around.
“They are an impressive size, but it is important people remember they are to be seen, not caught and eaten.”
Our inquiries reveal the biggest of the five barra measured 1m and 20cm in length (the barra pictured caught in Darwin measured 122cm), making it most certainly a female, of more than eight years of age, and weighing more than 20kg.
We're told the barra were eating the waterbirds at their previous bird sanctuary home. Barra are voracious opportunistic predators and eat just about anything that lives in or around water, including insects, spiders, crocodiles, prawns, fish and each other. The size of the prey is largely determined by the size of the barra.
The diet of a larger barramundi consists of 60 per cent fish and 40 per cent crustaceans, (mainly prawns) while smaller barra eat mostly small or large prawns. This will vary according to where the fish live.
One fish that stands out in barramundi diet is catfish. It has been found in the stomachs of barra with the spines protruding through the stomach and into the body cavity. Tough fish! Barra can take prey that is up to 60 per cent their own total length.
The big barra that outgrew their previous home were transferred to quarantine tanks to ensure the future move to the Nature Park was viable. The barramundi were then relocated to the Nature Park as a joint effort by the team from Territory Wildlife Park and rangers from the Howard Springs Nature Park.
Fishing within a designated area inside a park or reserve is prohibited under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation By-Laws and could attract a fine of up to $1000.
Howard Springs Nature Park, 35km south of Darwin, attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually and is open daily from 8am to 8pm.
The park protects 283 hectares of diverse habitats including monsoon forest and woodland and also features popular attractions including children’s play area, shallow rockpools and a natural waterhole home to aquatic species such as turtle and, now, some mighty big barra. See some footage below captured by a visitor hand feeding the park barra' last year.
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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