Latest news with #AustralianWildlifeConservancy
Miami Herald
30-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
‘Pint-sized' predator declared locally extinct in Australia. It's making comeback
Just before sundown in the Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary of Australia, smoke filled the sky. Representatives of the Barkindji people were conducting a smoking ceremony to prepare the sanctuary for the milestone return of a fearsome predator — 93 'pint-sized' phascogales. Red-tailed phascogales, known locally as bulku in the Barkindji language, are tiny carnivorous marsupials that have been considered locally extinct in New South Wales since 2016, according to a May 29 news release from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Driven to extinction in the region by the introduction of invasive species like cats and foxes, the phascogales have been kept alive through captive breeding programs, according to the conservancy. The last phascogale seen in the Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary was recorded in 1866, the organization said, but that just changed. A total of 56 females and 37 males have now been reintroduced into the wild from a breeding program at the Adelaide Zoo, following health checks, the conservancy said. The bulku were packed into cars and driven seven hours from the zoo to the sanctuary, where they were met by local representatives, according to the release. 'According to AWC ecologists and Adelaide zookeepers, most of the phascogales slept soundly throughout the journey,' the conservancy said. Once the animals arrived, they 'were awoken shortly after sundown, and one-by-one they were released into AWC's Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary's (19,768-acre) feral predator-free fenced area — one of the largest feral-free areas on mainland Australia.' About a third of the animals, 26, were collared with tracking transmitters before their release, allowing wildlife officials to track their movements and how well they survive in the first six to eight weeks in the wild. 'Arriving in May, means the Red-tailed phascogales will be settled and ready to start mating during the July breeding season,' AWC ecologist Rachel Ladd said in the release. 'We're expecting to see some juveniles running around in the second half of the year, unfortunately though, as a Dasyuridae species, this also means all of the males will drop off from the stress of breeding activities.' In a unique breeding strategy, males of the species die immediately after the breeding cycle, the conservancy said. Research suggests the die-off, called semelparity, is caused by a combination of stressors from the physiological changes during mating season that leads to gastrointestinal ulcers, immune suppression, infections and death, according to Bush Heritage Australia. If all goes to plan, wildlife officials said there could be as many as 1,400 phascogales living in the wild of the sanctuary in the next decade, according to the release. Bulku are nocturnal and typically live in trees, but can move along the ground during the day when looking for something to eat, according to Bush Heritage Australia. They eat insects, spiders and even small birds. They are incredibly small, measuring about 4 inches long and weighing about the same as a chicken egg, according to Bush Heritage Australia. They are also capable of jumping significant distances from tree to tree, more than 6 feet in a single leap. 'It's incredibly rewarding to see red-tailed phascogales back in the wild in Scotia after more than a century,' Mark Smith, the conservation manager at Zoos South Australia, said in the release. 'This release is the culmination of years of dedicated work by the Zoos SA team to breed this remarkable species for conservation. Working with the AWC has allowed us to take that next vital step — moving animals from behind-the-scenes care into wild landscapes where they belong.' Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary is in western New South Wales in southeastern Australia, about a 330-mile drive northeast from Adelaide.
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘A significant disaster': extreme floods risk conservation efforts in outback Queensland
When heavy monsoonal rain was forecast in north Queensland at the beginning of February, Josh McAllister and his family headed to Townsville to stock up on supplies. As the rain came down, his partner and kids did the bolt to home on Australian Wildlife Conservancy's (AWC) Mt Zero-Taravale wildlife sanctuary, 80km to the north-west, taking with them the groceries. McAllister stayed in town to complete a few jobs. By the time McAllister reached Mt Zero-Taravale later the same day, the road to the house was cut with flood water. Making it to a shed on the property he jumped in a side-by-side buggy and went cross-country, only to find these tracks, too, were cut by rising water. He returned to the shed. 'I had grabbed a salad roll and a bag of Doritos before I left town and that's all the food I had,' McAllister says. Scrounging around in the back of his ute he added six small tins of tuna to his supplies. 'I found some hessian bags that we use for animal traps and laid them on a work bench for a bed, and I figured I could go without food for a week. I had shelter and a Starlink connection, and water wasn't a problem, but straight away I was preparing for a potential longer-term stay.' After three days, a break in the rain allowed McAllister to get the buggy through creeks to home. It was the first of five major flooding events on the east coast this year, the latest of which, in northern New South Wales, killed five people, affected 10,000 properties and destroyed 800 homes. The damage at Mt Zero-Taravale is less devastating, but could spell trouble to come in protecting Australia's native species in the most remote and changeable landscapes. McAllister is the manager at Mt Zero-Taravale in Gugu Badhun Country, where a feral predator-proof fence protects a reintroduced population of endangered northern bettongs in a 950-hectare exclosure. Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter 'Northern bettongs have been identified as one of the top 20 animals to go extinct in the next 10 years,' McAllister says. AWC built the fence in 2023 with cyclones and monsoonal deluges in mind, with breakaway sections over creeks – and in February, they broke. 'Debris built up along these sacrificial sections, but they did what they were designed to do and broke away,' McAllister says. 'The fence was open for a week and then we were able to get in and do temporary repairs.' Reassuringly, the 52 cameras placed within the reserve have not detected any incursion by feral predators. The deluge has temporarily helped with weed control, flushing the lantana, a prickly flowering shrub listed as a weed of national significance, out of the creeks. Down on Naree Station Reserve, on Budjiti Country 130km north-west of Bourke in northern NSW, the Bush Heritage Australia (BHA) ecologist Bridget Roberts has a similar tale. SES crews were air-dropping mail and supplies to her after floods in western Queensland in April. But Roberts considers herself lucky. 'As a conservation property, we don't have responsibilities such as moving cattle or concern about what they're going to eat afterwards; this has been a significant disaster for a lot of people,' she says. Like McAllister, Roberts will have fences to fix and roads and erosion to repair but she sees first-hand the ecological bounty of a big flood in channel country, especially with a three-eyed crustacean known as a shield shrimp. Sign up to The Rural Network Subscribe to Calla Wahlquist's fortnightly update on Australian rural and regional affairs after newsletter promotion The shield shrimp, 8-9cm long, lays eggs that can survive in dry soil for more than seven years and can withstand temperatures of nearly 100C. When the rains come the eggs hatch, and the shrimp embark on a frenzied speed-breeding cycle. 'Within a day or two, they've moved through their larval stage and look like tiny versions of their adult self,' Roberts says. 'In about two weeks, they're at maturity and breeding. They live fast and die young because they're basically racing the puddles. They need to complete their life cycle before the water dries out.' In a quirk of nature, the eggs of the shield shrimp need to dry out before they can hatch. 'They go into diapause, which basically means they pause development of the embryo until conditions are just right.' The shrimp bring benefits for the environment, recycling nutrients as they gobble all in their path, and providing food for birds, which will arrive en masse for a major breeding event. Naree protects the strategic inland wetlands of the Cuttaburra Channels and Yantabulla Swamp. 'There are a lot of wetlands filling now, but with any luck the birds will choose our swamp, and we'll see them in all their glory,' she says. BHA has properties across flood-affected parts of Queensland, in the desert country around Boulia and Bedourie and on the Diamantina River south-west of Winton, all of which have been cut off in floods so far this year. As floods become more common and more extreme in the climate crisis, BHA's executive manager of science and conservation, Rebecca Spindler, says those ecosystems, which have evolved for the occasional flood, may struggle to recover. 'The extent and longevity of these floods will take more native species with them as the severity increases with climate change,' she says. 'Our science helps us find properties that have natural terrain features that hold water in the dry and provide refuge in the deluge.' Spindler says the receding waters will see predators target vulnerable wildlife and weeds flourish, requiring vigilant monitoring by reserve managers and ecologists as soon as access is possible. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rare Aussie creatures photographed coming to surface for 'super cool' battle
Rare images show ordinarily shy marsupials engaging in a fierce battle in the early morning hours. While it's common to see kangaroos boxing each other, there's a reason we don't often see greater bilbies engaging in the same behaviour. There aren't many of them. The pictures were taken at a predator-proof sanctuary created by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), which keeps small mammals safe from invasive cats and foxes. Dr Alexandra Ross, an ecologist who studies greater bilby behaviour, said the animals are so sparsely populated, it's uncommon to see two together. 'I find it exciting to have two in one shot, and then to have them fighting is super cool… they're showing a behaviour that would be normal, but we don't see it because they're so rare,' she told Yahoo News. Bilbies can share ranges and warrens, but large numbers don't live together, and they are known to be territorial. At least one of the bilbies is a male, and so Ross and the AWC team believe the images may capture a territorial dispute. 'The greater bilby used to cover around 80 per cent of Australia, but its range has declined by 80 per cent. They're super rare, but they're not supposed to be. They're supposed to be a common species,' she said. Before Europeans arrived in Australia, it would have been common to hear the sounds of greater bilbies throughout Central Australia, extending across to Adelaide and Perth. Today, their range is limited to isolated pockets of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 'These two bilbies fighting should be a common sight outside your bedroom window, but we have to go to all this effort now so they can exist,' Ross said. 📸 Sad story behind viral image highlights Australia's invasive species crisis 😳 Grim discovery in abandoned fishing trap near popular track 🌏 Air crew makes exciting 'once-in-a-lifetime' discovery in outback The footage was taken in the Northern Territory at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, a 261,501 hectare property that's home to 14 species threatened with extinction. Because native marsupials evolved without any evolutionary recognition of cats or foxes, in the wild, those that can't quickly learn are quickly killed. Inside the sanctuary, there is some evidence that their wary behaviour changes because they don't have to be on the lookout for introduced predators. 'Once you've got the cats and foxes out, you can bring back the native species that used to be in the area, and then they do spectacularly well. 'They're meant to be here, so as soon as you give them a chance, they do great.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare images show tiny Aussie creatures in fierce kangaroo-like battle
Rare images show ordinarily shy marsupials engaging in a fierce battle in the early morning hours. While it's common to see kangaroos boxing each other, there's a reason we don't often see greater bilbies engaging in the same behaviour. There aren't many of them. The pictures were taken at a predator-proof sanctuary created by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), which keeps small mammals safe from invasive cats and foxes. Dr Alexandra Ross, an ecologist who studies greater bilby behaviour, said the animals are so sparsely populated, it's uncommon to see two together. 'I find it exciting to have two in one shot, and then to have them fighting is super cool… they're showing a behaviour that would be normal, but we don't see it because they're so rare,' she told Yahoo News. At least one of the bilbies is a male, and so Ross and the AWC team believe the images may capture a territorial dispute. 'The greater bilby used to cover around 80 per cent of Australia, but its range has declined by 80 per cent. They're super rare, but they're not supposed to be. They're supposed to be a common species,' she said. Before Europeans arrived in Australia, it would have been common to hear the sounds of greater bilbies throughout Central Australia, extending across to Adelaide and Perth. Today, their range is limited to isolated pockets of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 'These two bilbies fighting should be a common sight outside your bedroom window, but we have to go to all this effort now so they can exist,' Ross said. 📸 Sad story behind viral image highlights Australia's invasive species crisis 😳 Grim discovery in abandoned fishing trap near popular track 🌏 Air crew makes exciting 'once-in-a-lifetime' discovery in outback The footage was taken in the Northern Territory at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, a 261,501 hectare property that's home to 14 species threatened with extinction. Because native marsupials evolved without any evolutionary recognition of cats or foxes, in the wild, those that can't quickly learn are quickly killed. Inside the sanctuary, there is some evidence that their wary behaviour changes because they don't have to be on the lookout for introduced predators. 'Once you've got the cats and foxes out, you can bring back the native species that used to be in the area, and then they do spectacularly well. 'They're meant to be here, so as soon as you give them a chance, they do great.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New Aussie invention set to halt spread of invasive predators
A new Aussie invention will help keep some of the nation's rarest animals safe from the deadly jaws of feral predators. Mesmerising vision released by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) shows how the new electronic gateway has been trained to recognise critically endangered brush-tailed bettongs so they can enter a protected sanctuary. The AWC's IT team fashioned the AI-powered 'SmartGate' to recognise up to 120 native wildlife and invasive species, letting in the native mammals and keeping out cats and foxes. Trials of the technology have been successful, with 55 million images accurately assessed. The prototype has been trialled at the non-profit's Karakamia sanctuary in southwest Western Australia. The invention will eventually allow safe passage between its 286-hectare feral predator-free fenced area and the wider sanctuary where feral predators are present but Assad, a telecommunications specialist at AWC, described the progress so far as 'very exciting'. 'We've made exciting advancements, learned many lessons and observed a range of animal behaviours that will result in improvements for the revised version of the SmartGate, currently in development,' she said. The SmartGate is essentially a tunnel with gates at each end. Entry through the second gate, into the predator-proof sanctuary, is only granted when the AI system detects a target species has entered. Tragic detail in Aussie roadside photo prompts urgent call to action Remarkable underwater sight at popular beach Push for huge new national park near major city Once the trial period is over, AWC will use the gate to restrict feral animals, as well as kangaroos and wallabies if they become overabundant in a landscape and threaten to damage ecosystems critical to the survival of threatened species. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
