Wildlife

On 11 May 2023 a deceased beaked whale washed into shallow water at the Western end of Old Settlement Beach ... The preliminary identification is a male Blainsville’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), consistent with the two large tusks in lower jaw, with stalked barnacles growing on their exposed tips.

When Lord Howe was discovered, there were sixteen land bird species breeding on the Island and early sailors, naturalists and painters documented these ... The extinct Lord Howe Island Grey Fantail was a small (length: about 15 cm) grey insectivorous bird with pale creamy-yellow underparts and a long dark-grey tail ... Over a period of a few days, I found not one but two fantails in the forest there.

Kwoorabup Nature School students have discovered and named a new species of parasitoid wasp while taking part in the Insect Investigators Citizen Science project. The Adelaide University run project involved 51 schools across Australia, also including Denmark Primary School.

The Supreme Court of Victoria has announced its decision on VicForests appeal of last November’s landmark court decision in Kinglake Friends of the Forest and Environment East Gippsland vs VicForests, known as “The Glider Case”. The panel of three judges upheld Justice Richards’ findings that VicForests’ actions were in breach of environment laws.The orders limiting logging in forests that are home to endangered gliders will remain.

Owners of the Darling Downs Zoo, Steve and Stephanie Robinson have reluctantly placed the popular tourist attraction on the market due to Steve’s health. The Robinsons opened the Darling Downs Zoo in 2005 after many years of working with authorities to enable the project to go ahead.

Scientists have been out in the field surveying fish across the region’s floodplains. For the first time, scientists have been able to investigate the movement patterns of juvenile Golden Perch from spawning in the Darling River, through to dispersal and growth in Victorian floodplains.

The work of the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions will be strengthened by the Federal Government’s recent funding announcement regarding the National Pest Animal Management Coordination Program. The increased funding will advance the activities of the Centre’s National Feral Cat and Fox Management Coordinator Program and the National Wild Dog Action Plan and supports the Centre’s drive to reduce the $25 billion annual cost of invasive species in Australia.

Leto takes no time at all to climb out of the cage and scurry up the white trunk of a eucalypt next to the Richmond River at East Coraki. Leto is a six year old koala who had a stained rump – indicating sickness – and so he was taken into care for a month.

Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt announced that 19 [Orange-bellied parrots] ... were released at Lake Connewarre ... Zoos Victoria and Deakin University are currently trialing ATLAS (Advanced Tracking and Localisation of Animals in real life Systems) – a new fixed receiver station tracking system that uses tiny radio transmitters and aims to build knowledge about how the birds use Victorian habitats.

The Sunshine Coast community is encouraged to register a helping hand and join a tree planting day that will supply sick and orphaned koalas with fresh leaves. Sunshine Coast Council Parks and Gardens team, in partnership with Nambour, Woombye and Maleny Rotary clubs, Hinterland Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Inc. and Cr David Law, will come together at Mapleton to plant 500 food trees for the local koala habitat.

Farmers are asking for more resources to combat an exponential rise in the number of highly destructive feral pigs, with fears for safety and property. NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said millions of feral pigs were breeding and rampaging across the countryside, thriving after years of high rainfall, attacking native animals and livestock, and causing massive damage to crops and infrastructure.

The Maldon in Winter festival kicks off tonight (Friday 23 June) with the long-awaited for Kangaroo Art Trail coming to life! Twenty-four life-sized kangaroos lovingly decorated by an array of local artists and community groups are creatively displayed in shop windows along Main & High Streets in Maldon throughout the festival.

In a significant step up in regional One Health and disease prevention capabilities, Wildlife Health Australia has achieved official designation from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as a Collaborating Centre for Wildlife Health Risk Management. This new international wildlife collaborating centre based in Australia will ensure wildlife health is integrated into One Health decision-making across the Indo-Pacific region to benefit public health, biosecurity, animal health, food security and biodiversity.

A marine park ranger involved in his first whale rescue says freeing a 10m humpback whale – first sighted entangled in ropes just north of Two Rocks – was an amazing experience. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions senior ranger Ben Leeson said the job of freeing the whale caught up in ropes from two rock lobster pots was carried out over three days.

Fitting neatly into co-curricular studies and specifically, the Connecting to Cattana Wetlands program, year 6 students at Trinity Anglican School (TAS) White Rock campus were treated to a special presentation this week about migratory shorebirds by zoologist, microlight pilot adventurer and children’s book author, Milly Formby ... TAS’ year 6 students were captivated by Milly’s presentation which provided a practical perspective to their studies of Cattana Wetlands near Smithfield...

A new app is allowing members of the public to act as citizen scientists by reporting koala sightings and providing accurate location and population data ... The Minister also announced $520,000 in grants for six projects that support long-term koala conservation in South East Queensland.

This year, the State Government - as part of its Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP) - has set the quota for commercial shooting of kangaroos in the central region of Victoria at 65,100 grey kangaroos. The total 2023 KHP quota for the entire state is 166,750. This means that a significant percentage (around 40 per cent) of kangaroos culled in Victoria will be coming from the central region.

A fundraising target of $505,000 has been exceeded to buy a former potato farm on Wilson Inlet’s eastern banks as a wildlife protection sanctuary. Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee and other groups comprising the Eungedup Wetlands Management Group have raised $516,000 to buy 103ha with the sale to be settled at the end of the month.

More than 5,000 trees and shrubs now call the banks of Thowgla Creek home thanks to the combined efforts of more than 30 volunteers over three days. The plantings will accelerate the recovery of the water system following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires by stabilising banks, providing shade and housing terrestrial food items that fish love.

Vic Jurskis. Since NSW koalas were declared endangered 12 months ago, they’re turning up everywhere. Here's the latest: "... uncovered a new population of 42 koalas at Coolah Tops, north west of Sydney, when the previous government only had five documented koala sightings in the area over the past 70 years." ... The new Minister says, “all estimates have koalas on track to be extinct by 2050” ... A few questions for the new Minister ...

Pest animal control works will commence across Tweed coastal areas from 6 June 2023  after a successful program in previous years. Recent camera monitoring has recorded pest animal activity in the coastal bushland areas at Fingal Head, Kingscliff, Hastings Point and Pottsville. Species recorded on the cameras have included foxes and European hares...