Einbunpin Lagoon
Following on from my
first article and the surprising amount of turtle turbulence it created, I decided to return to the scene of the crime and collect a few more facts. (
Einbunpin Lagoon, Sandgate)
Lo and behold, there are at least two signs that in part stipulate no feeding the inhabitants, in particular NO BREAD. So there we have it.
Ooops
My husband had come for the ride, primarily to drive while I primed the camera. He had slipped a couple of slices of bread (Aldi $1.00 per loaf) into a pocket just in case the signs could be missed and he could "innocently" provide some extra sustenance to the fishies. There are several entry points one could find and be blissfully unaware of the feeding restrictions.
Turtles at Sandgate
I took some snaps of the signs about the place including an information plate about the turtles and eels and another plate with images of different species that inhabit this lagoon. It was a very pleasant afternoon.
A little paranoia began to set in. Was the bloke on the seat a council worker disguised as a retiree? Or the dad and the young girl in the undercover area – was she a cover? Or the friendly chatty older woman with a dog and a foreign accent? My husband whispered the slices of bread felt like a bomb now and began asking stupid questions like do the Council have holding cells?.
But what happened next was interesting. A young mother with baby in a stroller wandered along the concrete verge to the waters edge. We noted she had been to a grocery store – a couple of bags hung on the stroller handles.
She stopped and spent time with the young child pointing out the ducks and other birds floating about and the odd turtle that would "up periscope" looking for food.
Next thing we know, the woman reached around and pulled several slices of bread from the grocery bag and proceeded to dispense chunks into the water. Her customer base expanded rapidly both above water and below.
Turtles at the edge of the pond
Did she see the signs? Was she oblivious to her non-compliance? Was she informed and sticking it to the man, and just having some fun with her baby and to hell with the consequences?
We quietly watched our suspects for any movement towards the mother and child to snap on the handcuffs and cart them away in a shiny black car ... nothing happened, not even a camera click or two.
We left soon after, I packed my camera away and my husband quietly slipping the bread into a rubbish bin.
We concluded there is signage prohibiting feeding the wildlife and information why it is detrimental to their health. However there are enough gaps in the system to allow unsuspecting people to happily feed them without any awareness of their potentially harmful actions.
As a Mum (who has) toddlers some of our happiest moments would have been feeding the ducks or the eels with the left over bread stored in the freezer for such occasions. It seems sad that this generation of IT children are missing out on some outside fun. I wonder if there is a healthy option;
environmental pellets or dried fruit/veggies perhaps?
Hoping for a snack
