Wildlife

Samuel Davis. A man who has experienced one too many encounters with crocs in Cape York has blasted the publisher of a “dangerous” video that shows the apex predator being fed out of the side of a boat. In a 12-second clip posted to Facebook, a saltwater croc snatches a fish tossed at its snout by fishermen as the vessel nears a muddy mangrove.

Overcast skies and cold dismal weather did not deter the public from celebrating Narrandera’s free-ranging koalas at the inaugural Koala Festival on Saturday. The indoor/outdoor event was held at the Narrandera Showground with families arriving en mass to participate in the festivities, all of which were free, courtesy of a NSW Government grant. Almost 1000 festival-goers attended the event.

Motorists are urged to take care on the roads, particularly at dawn and dusk, following a horror spate of koala deaths and injuries so far this active season. Since mid-July, at least 30 koalas have been reported to have been hit by cars or attacked by dogs across the Northern Rivers.

Tiny solar-powered, satellite backpacks are tracking one of Australia’s rarest bird species after they were released for only the second time ever in NSW as part of a conservation effort between the NSW, SA and Victorian Governments. Fifteen critically endangered Plains-wanderers have been released into Oolambeyan National Park in the NSW Riverina, which was protected in perpetuity in 2002 due to its high conservation value in protecting critical habitat for the Plains-wanderer.

Botanists have stumbled across a new and unexplored field of carnivorous plants along with multiple new species of the animal-eating flora at the remote Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley. The new site, aptly named Sundew Spring, was discovered by Curtin University PhD candidate and botanist Thilo Krueger, his academic co-supervisor Dr Andreas Fleischmann and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) Wildlife Ecologist Dr Tom Sayers while conducting research at the AWC managed sanctuary.  

Logging contractors in Central and West Gippsland with virtually no work, a large mill in Orbost running out of log supply, while a new poll shows Victorians overwhelmingly support home grown timber for housing. Welcome to the paradox and crisis facing Victoria’s forest industry; the native forest sector, largely based in Gippsland, is at a virtual standstill due to legal action by environmentalists and decisions by the Supreme Court, as demand for native hardwood because of its beauty, strength and durability remains high.

An entrancing, informative book filled with answers to many of the common questions we ask about birds and their lives. For thousands of years birds have fascinated us. We've observed what they do - their behaviours, their characteristics, their survival skills, the food they eat and their habitats - and wondered why they do it.

Kate Foran. How many people get to say “I tickled the toes of an echidna at work today”? Local neighbouring households recently observed an echidna burrowing around their back yards ... Echidnas are tricky creatures to pick up, digging their spikes into the surrounding dirt and anchoring themselves solidly to the ground, to protect their soft underbelly.

Darling Downs residents are being warned not to “wing it” when it comes to sick or injured bats after a confirmed case of Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV) in Kingsthorpe. The injured bat was found in a back yard in August with residents alerting appropriate authorities.

Narrandera's treetop residents will take centre stage at the inaugural Koala Festival at the Narrandera Showground on Saturday ... It is being held to promote Narrandera’s free-ranging koala colony ... the colony is Narrandera’s tourism trump card and one of the shire’s greatest natural assets.

The latest issue of Australian Zoologist is titled “Out of the ashes: Lessons learned from bushfires and how we can better manage our fauna”. But the editorial wrap-up suggests we’ve learnt nothing. It seems our fauna will continue to suffer from mismanagement under a Lock It Up and Let It Burn conservation’ paradigm. The abstract mentions monitoring, mapping and research, but the only reference to management is “use of supplementary resources such as nest boxes and artificial roosts to replace those lost in fires”.

The most ambitious rewilding project in Australia is achieving incredible results, with 10 locally extinct species now thriving after being reintroduced to three feral-free areas in NSW national parks ... “It’s incredible to see that in such a short period of time, we’re on track to remove at least 10 animals from the NSW extinct list – the first time this will have happened anywhere in the world”: NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin.

"These new nature reserves provide an important ecological link to other reserves in the area supporting our native species. Through the upcoming release of the draft Forest Management Plan 2024-2033, the community will get the chance to have their say in caring for the health of our forests" : WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby.

Charles Sturt academic, Dr Joanne Connolly explores what makes koalas unique and how Charles Sturt University is contributing to saving endangered populations, including research into the Narrandera koala population ... ARR.News asks some questions of Dr Connolly.

Bushfire affected environmental recovery monitoring in south-west NSW by a Charles Sturt University PhD research student has revealed a hitherto un-noted lizard species in Woomargama National Park. Mr Grant Linley in the Charles Sturt Gulbali Institute of Agriculture, Water and Environment said his research obtained photographic evidence of a species, the heath goanna (also known as Rosenberg’s goanna), in Woomargama NP which has not been observed by scientists to occur in the park.

The turmoil in the native forest industry is deepening, with Australian Paper turning to recycle more paper as its hardwood timber supply dwindles, while a sawmill in the state’s far east is due to close because it has no timber. Recent developments have underlined the crisis facing the Gippsland industry.

A new world-class wildlife hospital at Werribee Open Range Zoo is now fully operational to treat sick and injured wildlife in Victoria’s western region as part of the response to the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires. Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio announced the completion of the RSPCA Koala Ward at Werribee Open Range Zoo, which will increase capacity to provide expert, compassionate care for sick and injured koalas, native birds, reptiles and mammals in Victoria’s western regions.

Celebrate the amazing environment, biodiversity and threatened species that call the Gloucester region home this September as part of the Gloucester Wild Festival. Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. In NSW there are close to 1000 species at risk of extinction, 116 of which are located in the Gloucester region.

Virginia Gale. On President Beth Gale’s patio we all gathered together for a quick meeting as there wasn’t a lot to report. We were then joined by Skye MacPherson, Project Coordinator for South Eastern Red Tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii) ... The Red Tailed Black Cockatoo are on the endangered list and there are about 1500 in the South East.

Chris Oldfield. The birds, bats and frogs of Ramsar-listed Bool Lagoon have their own calls and stories. Those stories will be shared when Bool Lagoon and Hacks Lagoon (currently dry) next have water. ... “So, finding a way of sharing that site with people – it's important to me. It seemed like a good fit to be doing environmental eco tours at Bool Lagoon to share that wonderful site with people”: Dr Abigail Goodman.