Wildlife

RVOTDS. Game Management Authority (GMA) (Vic) arranged a first-ever count of Stubble Quails in Victoria early this year, and the resultant report it assisted in drafting, has recently been published. The report’s authors have admitted only 101 birds were counted, yet the figure was extrapolated via complex methodologies up to an extraordinary estimate of 3.1 million.

Murdoch University sustainability lecturer Nicole Hodgson describes the central core of Mt Hallowell reserve as precious unlogged, long unburnt forest. This was mostly karri, jarrah, marri, sheoak, and more than 100 other plant species. Home to many animals and more than 70 bird species, some in the reserve were critically endangered like the Carnaby’s and Baudain’s cockatoos.

A local lizard lover has been keeping a watchful eye on a lounge of Cunningham Skinks in Muir Street at Allora. These lizards will remain safe from any harm as they disappear in a flash if danger comes close. So look but don’t try to touch!

Koala numbers at Yanchep National Park have fallen with only half the population there now compared with three years ago. Prior to the 2019 Yanchep bushfire there were eight koalas in the colony located in the national park’s enclosure. But a Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) spokeswoman said there were now four koalas left in the colony.

“Construction on 24 kilometres of specially-designed predator-free fencing will begin in December. Once complete, we’ll start working to eradicate every feral predator from within it, before releasing locally extinct and threatened species that were once abundant back into Nungatta": Minister for Environment James Griffin.

The GMA is conducting the annual helicopter survey across Victoria to monitor the abundance of game duck populations, to help improve our knowledge of waterfowl ecology. The aerial survey will be conducted by experienced wildlife biologists recording the presence, species and number of game ducks on waterbodies across Victoria.

Managing wild dogs is not easy work with community engagement simply not about the deployment of tools into the landscape by the people whose assets are threatened by incursions. According to Western Australian landholder Debbie Dowden, it requires human action, which means working within the complex dynamics of human nature.

This amazing photo was taken by Corie Ross of Long Neck Farm in Goomburra. “Two red bellied black snakes fighting for mating rights. A pretty rare sight but we got to enjoy it for nearly 20 minutes.” Corie said.

Nillumbik Friends of the Great Forest have followed with interest the developments in the native forest logging industry, in particular the decision by the Andrews government in 2019 to halt native forest logging in 2030. Victoria is well placed to transition to a 100 % plantation industry as we already have considerable areas of plantation ... The industry has every right to be upset with the government for withholding the funding for a fair and just transition ... ARR.News asks NFGF a few questions.

South Australian pastoralists inside the Dog Fence will continue to benefit from the services of wild dog trappers, with funding for the trapper program guaranteed for the next four years ... The wild dog trapping program is open to landowners or managers inside the Dog Fence who have baited and still experience impacts from wild dog attacks.

World Cassowary Day  has arrived at a significant moment for the  Ipima Ikaya Traditional Owner clans with the news that at least 10 Wadthuuny (cassowaries) have been discovered living on their Country in the remote section of the Cape York Northern Area Peninsula.  The findings are part of the first formal Wadthuuny survey to be conducted on Gudang Yadhaykenu Country in the Ussher Point section of  the newly renamed  Apudthama National Park.

NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin said the landmark program is restoring koala habitat on private land, increasing biodiversity and providing an additional revenue stream for landholders through carbon farming ... ARR.News has asked a question of the Minister.

Back in May, NSW’s Natural Resources Commission and Department of Primary Industries, as well as three universities, quietly published a report about forest monitoring. It states that north coast koala populations have been stable for the last five years, despite 30 per cent of koala habitat being burnt by the disastrous Black Summer megafires ... NSW bureaucrats obviously know that the koala population wasn’t adversely affected by Black Summer. So, one wonders why they’re not shouting the good news from the rooftops.

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.