Life pressures of a Protea Tree

The Damage You Don’t Want to See

Back in March 2025, we experienced a gut-wrenching moment. Two of our young Proteas were found lying flat on the ground after Cyclone Alfred whipped through the area with intense winds. We had only just staked and tied them in place in the hopes they’d grow tall and strong. At the time, both plants were carrying their very first flower buds, and our hearts sank.

Thankfully, nature showed a little mercy.

Despite the shock and the stress on the plants, the buds continued to grow and went on to produce their first-ever flowers — a moment of triumph after the storm.

Fast forward to now, and we’re facing a different kind of damage — and one that’s proving harder to explain.

As you’ll see in the images below, the plants have once again suffered a setback. But this time, it wasn’t the wind. Something — or someone — has chewed multiple branches clean off. Not one branch was eaten. They were either chewed through and left dangling or dropped entirely on the ground. It’s not the kind of damage we’ve ever seen before.

We’ve heard all kinds of theories:

• Wind (again)

• Rabbits

• Kangaroos

• Deer

We’ve even had people suggest cows — possibly from neighbouring property. But after assessing the damage and the clues left behind, we’ve narrowed it down to two likely suspects: deer or cows, with deer currently the front-runner.

Why?

• There were hoof prints nearby — although the dry, dusty ground didn’t give us a clear impression.

• There was no obvious manure left behind to identify the animal.

• The nature of the chewing doesn’t match rabbits or kangaroos — it’s rougher, more forceful.

As for what we’ve done so far:

We’ve taken the most basic step — trimming off the damaged and dangling branches, cleaning up the uneven chewed ends as best we can to avoid further stress to the plant.

We’ve been advised to go further:

• Install an electric fence

• Put up a 7-foot-high enclosure

• Use wildlife deterrents

But here’s where we’re drawing a line:

We’re not keen on putting up high fencing. Wildlife is incredibly important to us. We don’t want to disrupt the natural flow of native animals or create barriers that harm their movement through the land. It’s really just the pest animals we need to manage — the ones causing this kind of damage. We want to let the native ones do their thing, undisturbed.

So for now, it’s a watch-and-wait approach.

We’ve set up a trail camera to monitor any overnight visitors, and hopefully, it gives us a clearer answer soon. While the damage is disheartening, we’re staying hopeful. We’ve seen these plants bounce back from tough conditions before, and we’re backing them to do it again.