AWC

Martin Copley was a British financier and insurance underwriter who first visited Australia in 1966. In 1991 he purchased a property in Chidlow, Western Australia to be used for conservation purposes as it had a large area of natural bushland. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy traces its origins back to this purchase. Copley moved to Australia in 1994 and in 2001 the AWC became a public charitable organisation. It now owns 22 sanctuaries covering more than 2.6 million hectares around Australia. The organisation employs approximately 80 staff and manages more conservation land then any other government or non-government organisation in Australia.

The Nailtail Wallaby

Australian Wildlife Conservancy is actively protecting 300 ecosystems, 100 of which are throated, and 170 different threatened animal species. It continues its conservation work by acquiring land to establish sanctuaries for threatened species and ecosystems, by conducting conservation programs, such as the eradication of feral animals and the reintroduction of endangered species, conducting scientific research and undertaking public education promoting the awareness of problems facing Australia's wildlife.

Volunteer working for AWC at Scotia.

A significant part of AWCs work has been the Threatened Species Reintroduction program. Some 27 species of mammals only found in Australia have become extinct on the mainland; many more are in such a critical condition that they are nearing extinction. Some of these species have survived on offshore islands. This has allowed an opportunity to save these animals from total extinction by building up their population in a safe environment and then reintroducing them back to where they used to roam. AWC has a number of breeding programs in feral free areas and are set to reintroduce species such as: the Banded Hare-wallaby, Bilby, Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, Burrowing Bettong, Numbat and Shark Bay Mouse.

The Mala, being brought back from the brink of extinction.

In one of the most exciting projects AWC have taken on is the management of 150,000 hectacres of wilderness in the north-west Kimberley. This property has proved to be a "lost world". There are possibly 50 species of reptiles, mammals and birds which have survived here and nowhere else in Australia. At present scientists and ecologists are doing a 'stocktake' to discover how rich this area is.

                                                                                       

REPTILES

A snake in a funnel trap.

Australia has the most diverse collection of reptiles in the world. It has over 836 described species of reptiles, with many more still unnamed. It also has more reptiles species than birds species. A Complete Guide to the Reptiles of Australia says because there is so much diversity "no single person is ever likely to see all of our species in a lifetime". 

A Broad-banded Sand-swimmer (Eremiascincus richardsonii)

Reptiles are spread right across the continent from cool Alpine forests to tropical rainforests to coastal mangroves. However it is the arid zones which support the greatest diversity and concentration of reptiles. Spinifex, or porcupine grasses, cover vast tracts of land in central and western Australia. The protective foliage create a haven favoured by many species. It is said that "A square kilometre of Australian spinifex desert may support more species of reptiles than an area of comparable size anywhere else in the world". Interestingly nearly half of the reptile species are skinks. The most recent count says there are 389 species of skinks in Australia, this includes the well known Blue-tongue lizard.

A Dtella (Gehyra variegata)

Several times I have talked to people overseas and they say they would never visit Australia because of all the snakes and spiders we have (It was interesting that the last time I had this conversation I was in South Africa and we were monitoring lions in the wild!). This may be surprising when there are about 2500 species of snakes in the world but in Australia there are only 110 land snakes and 32 sea snakes. But not so surprising when you realise that of our snakes more than half of them are venomous, though not all of these venomous snakes have a poison that will kill, or even harm, humans. In the last 25 years there have been only 43 deaths from snake bite, and none of these have been in the last 10 years. There are more deaths in Australia from scuba diving accidents, lightning strikes, horse-riding accidents and, the worst of all, bee stings. Statistically India, South Africa and America are just some of the countries that are worse than Australia for deaths from snake bites.

Two views of the Ringed Brown Snake (Pseudonaja modest)

MALA

A mother and young mala.

Each night I have been assisting Jennifer and Bonny who are gathering information on the Mala. We do this by each sitting in a small tent and at designated times throughout the night taking readings on a number of mala which are wearing radio tracking collars. Since we are at different locations, spread around the area, the reading can be plotted to show exactly where each mala is feeding. 

Commonly known as ‘Mala’, the rufous hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus hirsutus) were once found in western and central Australia, usually in spinifex desert country. Two sub-species live on Dorre and Bernier Island off the Western Australia coast. The mainland numbers were decimated by foxes, feral cats and competition with rabbits and by the 1980s only two small groups remained. A single fox wiped out one of these groups and bushfires the other. Now the only mainland mala are in captivity. Since 1993 a team have been working to breed and reintroduce the mala to the wild.

A collared mala.

The only mainland mala are now 45 individuals at the Scotia Sanctuary, 15 in Alice Springs Desert Park, 214 in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (NT), 32 in Watarrka National Park (NT), and 26 in the Francois Peron National Park (WA), a total of only 332 individual mala.

The telemetry station

The mala are nocturnal and feed on grasses and seeds. During the day they live in scraps under spinifex grasses. The mala weighs about 1.2 to 1.3 kilos, though it is the female which is usually slightly larger than the male. Mala can breed up to three times a year in captivity,
    having one offspring per time.

SAD DEATH.

The camp was shaken today by the reported death of a worker at Ethabuka Station in western Queensland. The station is located in the north-eastern corner of the Simpson Desert. Twenty five year old, South African born Mauritz “Mo” Pieterse died last Monday after becoming stranded in the desert. He was a conservationist working for a similar organization to the one I am working with here and some of the people here not only knew him but had recently worked with him.

Major Mitchel Cockatoo.

Mauritz and a 30 year old co-worker, Josh Hayes, had set out in the morning to check bores on the station. When their Toyota Hilux had become bogged they set out to walk the 16 kilometres to their camp. However in the 45 degree heat they didn’t have enough water. When the pair didn’t return that night a search was mounted and they were found 10 kilometres from the station. Josh Hayes is still in Mount Isa hospital recovering from dehydration and heat exhaustion.

A Rainbow Bee-eater and a Dusky Swallow.

OUCH!

Sand goanna.

A new volunteer, Allira, from Newcastle, arrived this afternoon and joined our team. The next day was probably our busiest yet. We went out as normal and dismantled our traps. Then we went to a different part of the reserve and again set up in three different vegetation areas. The other two teams were doing the same. We arrived back at camp around 3.30 and then had to go out and do the rounds again at 5.30. The specimens caught in the traps have been light but there have been some interesting ones. These include Burton's Legless Lizard (Lialis burtonis) and a young Sand Goanna.

Burton's Legless Lizard.

When I opened one of the funnel traps the lizard in it managed to escape. It ran into a clump of spinifex grass. Not thinking I tried to grab it as we hadn't measured it yet. Both hands came up with hundreds of little prickles. Soon there were little spots of blood on both hands. They were very painful and it took some time to pick the bulk of them out. That night between telemetry sessions I had a small pair of tweezers and I sat patiently picking out thorns. The advice I have been given is to wait for the rest to fester and then pick them out with a needle. I now have a healthy respect for spinifex grass.

Clumps of spinifex grass.

LIZARDS, SPIDERS AND OTHER BUGS

Ctenotus regius

In the afternoon checked the traps. Found assorted skinks and young dragons, as well as numerous scorpions and spiders. Back at camp had time for a coffee before heading back out for a night of telemetry. Arrived at my station and Bonny helped me set up. Began the first lots of readings shortly after at 10.20. Halfway through these readings I started to get a lot of static. As I went to reset the dials I got an electrical shock of the set. There was also a close clap of lightning and it was decided to abort until the weather cleared. Jennifer headed back to check the radar and I went to sleep in the van. 

I awoke, checked the clock and found it was after 5 in the morning. I couldn’t raise the others on the radio so I headed back to camp as I had to go and check the traps at 6.30. When I arrived at camp I was surprised there was no activity. Surprised until I went in the kitchen and found the clock said 2.15. I tried the radio again and found Jennifer was doing the next check on the lightning. Sheepishly I followed her back out to my station. We did a round of checks about 3.30 and then again just after 5.00 before I headed back into camp again.

Pogona vitticeps

Our team had changed a little. Tony had left and gone home. He does a lot of volunteer work, usually with turtle nesting sites, so maybe he just didn't like lizards? When we went out this morning Mel came with us. She is here at the sanctuary doing research on Beauty ants. I have seen some of her photos and they are amazing (I will try to post some later). Because it had rained for a good part of the night there were only a few lizards in the traps this morning. There were a lot of spiders and a few millipedes.

Rhynchoedura ornata

TRIGONOMETRY

My telemetry station in the early morning.

After a quick sleep it is decided that the lightning has cleared. I follow Bonny out into the scrub. We stop beside a small tent and a trailer. After being shown how to use the equipment this becomes my home for the next 5 or 6 hours. We are taking readings on about 20 Mala. A reading should take less than two minutes to complete, though they allow me to do every second reading since I am only learning how to use the instruments. We each take a reading for a particular animal at the exact same time. By triangulating these three readings we can pinpoint the exact location of the animal. On a normal night readings are taken throughout the night, about an hour apart. This provides information on the animals' movements, range and feeding patterns.

Home, sweet home.

After doing the first round of readings there is a little over two hours before the next set of readings are taken. Stuck out in the scrub by myself I make coffee and settle down to read a book. It is peaceful. This is a little more involved then the telemetry readings we were doing in South Africa. There we were just locating the dogs by using a direction rather than pinpointing their exact position.

This meant I missed checking the buckets in the morning. When my team arrived back they had found a Coral Snake, a Two-toned Blind Snake, Smooth Knob-tailed Gecko, Eastern Stone Gecko, Beaked Gecko and Eastern Spiny-tailed Gecko and a Tree Dtella. One of the big problems here is the ants. They are numerous and when animals are confined in the buckets the ant will swarm all over them. We do take steps to minimise this happening. For me one of the biggest nuisances is the dust. This red dust pervades everything. Clothing, cameras and the inside of the car are all covered in red dust.

EMPTYING THE BUCKETS

Our first finding: a scorpion.

After laying the traps in three areas, each a different vegetation type, we returned to camp. The time is spent eating lunch, relaxing and catching up on 'blogs'. During the late afternoon we returned to the three sites to check the contents of the traps. In our first bucket was a scorpion. I thought this was a good start to the afternoon as I hadn’t really seen many scorpions in the bush before. Over the three sites there were 33 buckets in total. Besides the scorpion they yielded two small lizards: a Central Bearded Dragon and a Nobbi Dragon, and about ten skinks. Now I know I am new to this but I thought a skink was a skink. Not so, there are numerous different types of skinks. We found two different types: Barred Wedgesnout Ctenotis and a Broad-banded Sandswimmer. As Anna excitedly thumbed through her reptiles of Australia reference book and compared them to photographs she had taken of other skinks Flic was able to show me the orange patch under the chin which indicated it was a breeding male.

One of the geckos from the buckets.

Tony, using long tongs to check the buckets.

After push starting the car we headed back to camp. In the morning we were to be short one driver, thus down a vehicle. This meant one person would not be able to go out in the morning. However they could stay up that night and go out with Jennifer and Bonny who were taking telemetry readings on a population of Mala, a small wallaby. This would go on at various times during the night so that the movement and range of these animals could be plotted. Always ready to see what else was going on I volunteered for this, normally staying awake all night would not be a problem for me, however I was a little worried with not having had much sleep the night before.

Arriving back at camp from checking the buckets I had time for dinner before being picked up for the night shift. We set off in separate cars but had only gone through the first gate when lightning strikes appeared in the sky. Because we were working with antennae mounted on steel poles this could be a problem. We returned to camp to check what the lightning storm was doing on the radar. It was decided to take a break and then at 3 in the morning have a look at the storm and see if we could resume. This gave me two hours sleep, enough for anyone!

SETTING THE TRAPS

The team I was working with: Anna, Tony and Flic.

Day 1:  We worked in small teams of about four people. During the morning each team set up three pit fall sites. A site is a ha in area. Within this area traps are laid out in a pattern. We dig a shallow trench 25m long and then lay plumber's plastic along this, buried in the ground and rising to about 300cm above the ground. At each end there is a plastic bucket buried with the lid left off. The theory is that small animals, reptiles and insects will hit the plastic and then walk along it and fall in the buckets. In this way we can do a survey of animals in the area. In  the middle of each 25 metre length there are also two funnel traps. These are like a long skinny yabbie trap and are able to trap snakes, larger lizards and small mammals. Eleven traps are laid in the 1 ha, laid out in a pattern of five groups.

Flic laying funnel traps.

Anna laying the centre plastic.

The organisation I am working for is called The Australian Wildlife Conservancy or AWC for short. They own and run the Scotia property which is 65,000 ha in size, and on the border of South Australia.  It was once two separate grazing properties, Ennisvale and Tararra. These had very short histories as grazing properties, probably because of the harsh landscape and the lack of water.

The feral-free fence.

Scotia has the largest fenced feral free area on the mainland of Australia. Two areas are now fenced, known as Stage 1 and Stage 2, each of 4,000 ha. Both areas have populations of Bridled Nailtail Wallabies, Burrowing Bettongs, Brushtailed Bettongs, Bilbies, Numbats and Greater Stick-nest Rats.

SCOTIA OR BUST

The directions I had were to drive to Manildra, turn onto the Silver City Highway and head towards Broken Hill (some 300 kilometres away). About seven kilometres past the Seven Tree Rest Area turn left onto the Belvedere Road. Drive until I get to a major intersection and then its 30 kilometres further on. Then using the radio provided at the security gate I will be told to turn left and follow the road to the corner of the fence then turn right until eventually I reach and enter another security gate. All sounded so simple.

I slept in Manildra. Woke about 6am and watched a hot air balloon drifting over the city and the houseboats on the Murray. Purchased some supplies and headed off. An unusual sight was about 15 birds of prey sitting in a dead tree beside the road. I have never seen this many together before. Of course when I stopped to photograph them they scattered, except for one. I am guessing, but because there are so many orchards and vineyards the birds were probably waiting for the many small birds which gather to raid the fruit each morning. Once I got off the sealed road feral goats were very common. I arrived at the gate and the voice told me to turn right. I queried this but it was repeated. Fortunately I have a radio in the car and moments late a voice came on to say turn left not right, otherwise I might have been writing this blog from South Australia tonight.

Drive on this road until I reach a major intersection?

The rest of Sunday was spent settling in and finding a room. I took the only single room since I was there first, but actually I think it was a storeroom. Accommodation is very basic and we cook and eat up at the main block. That night there was a safety briefing. People gradually drifted off to bed. Since it was too hot I stayed and read. However it wasn't until everyone was gone that I realized I didn't have a torch. I used the iPad light to find my way along the track to my room. It was so hot that sleep eluded me for most of the night.

Feral goats were everywhere.

PETROL

The road across the Hay Plains.

I left Sydney and spent three days in Parkes getting lights and CB fixed on the car, getting a new laptop (spilt coffee on last one) and organising camping gear. I had to go to Dubbo to buy the computer because nobody sells Apple products in Parkes. However 10.30 on Saturday I set out on the 900 kms trip to Scotia Sanctuary. I had between a half a tank and a quarter of a tank of petrol. So I thought I would fill up at West Wylong, 150 kms away. 

As I was driving along the highway I suddenly remembered that I had filled the tank when I arrived back from Dubbo, and I had only done a couple of trips to the shed since then. Why did I have less than a half a tank of petrol left? I began to consider the possibilities. Was the gauge stuck? Did they break the gauge when they were putting in the radio? Had someone stolen my petrol? Even stopped to see if the cap was missing or showed signs of tampering. Maybe the tank has a leak. All of these and more passed through my mind.

What if the petrol keeps leaking? Or if the gauge is wrong and there is even less petrol? Will I make it to the next petrol? I was watching the gauge carefully. I would know once I filled up and then I would have to keep track of how far I go so I don't run out way out in the scrub. I kept thinking about the possibilities and the consequences for the next 100 kms. If only I had a trip meter to tell me how much further the car would go on the remaining petrol. Actually that's how I am certain I filled up when I got back from Dubbo because I was watching the meter go down to only a few kilometres of petrol left. 

AND then the penny dropped. I was watching the trip metre. My van does not have a trip metre. Thats right I had my van in getting the lights fixed. I drove a different car to Dubbo and so it wasn't my van that had a full tank of petrol after all. Ah early stage alzheimers.

WILD FERRETS

Halfway to Scotia I cross the Hay Plain, described to me as the most boring road in the world. 

If you typed the word 'ferret' into Goggle and this came up as a reference then my advice is hit the 'back to last page arrow', simply because this is not a blog about ferrets. I am off to do 24 days of volunteer conservation work at Scotia Sanctuary. Scotia is south of Broken Hill and north of Mildura, or as I laughingly say: in the desert. To keep in touch with family and friends I decided to keep a blog. The blog needed a name. Something which sounded like it had to do with conservation or research work; something which reflected I would be working with small animals; and maybe slightly exotic or dangerous; and something which showed how serious everyone should take the blog. So SEARCHING FOR THE WILD FERRET was born.

Hit Manildra and turn right were my instructions.

And just in case you are wondering, there are no wild ferrets in Australia. Actually, no wild ferrets really anywhere. Ferrets are a domestic animal. They were domesticated two and a half thousand years ago, and we are not really certain which animal they originated from, possibly a European Forrest ferret. There have been feral populations of ferrets, the latest in New Zealand, but I suspect the hobbits have eaten all of these. Of course if there is a grant going to search for the wild ferret in Australia then I am willing to take on that task, along with the Tasmanian Tiger, Loch Ness Monster and Elvis.