THE NUMBATS ARRIVE

The numbats arrive by light plane.

Their collars are checked.

The numbats were due to arrive from Perth Zoo, via Adelaide this afternoon at about 3 o'clock. There were a few delays but they eventually arrived in a small plane about 5. They were taken to the hanger and their collars checked to see if they were working and two new collars put on. Then they were loaded into three vehicles and taken to the bush for release. The numbats were not just let go to fend for themselves. Over the past few days sites had been prepared for each numbat. Areas were selected so that each animal had a big enough range so they would not be overcrowded and competing for food. At each site logs were prepared to put the animals in and water dishes were placed near the logs. Each log was also covered by a camera trap to record the animals coming out of the log and to see if they continued to use the log as a home base. The collars were so that we could come back and check they were still alive and still in the area without disturbing the individual animals. The collars also allow the numbats to be located easily when the collars need adjusting. Sharon, a volunteer from Manildra, and I will be working with Jennifer over the next week and a half to monitor the numbats' movements. After that a new team will take over and the numbats will be monitored for a couple of months.

A numbat being released.

A numbat collar.

There are nearly 300 numbats already here at Scotia. Today's release is of another seventeen. Eleven of these have been collared. The numbats are being released into stage two. This is a fenced feral-free area, that is it does not have foxes, cats or dingos. There are a number of birds of prey in the area and these will take numbats; there are also goannas, which are opportune and may take a numbat given a chance. The vegetation is mainly mallee with a few areas of spinifex. There are a number of watering points. There are also some numbats already in the area (maybe 10 to 30), there are a few bilbies and a few kangaroos. Stage 2 is just under 4,000 hectares in area.

Being placed into a log.

The collars are made as small as possible and ideally, as with all animals they are less then 5% of the animal's body weight. This also means compromises in the case of small animals. Usually it means the battery has to be smaller or the range of the signal from the collar is less. These collars weigh 7 gms, the battery lasts about 13 months and they have a  nominal range of 250 to 300 metres, though this is very much affected by the topography of the area and climatic conditions.

Sadly, Nicholas, the young numbat we had been monitoring before this release, was found dead today. His collar was giving out a 'mortality signal', it does this when the collar has not moved for 10 hours. The collar was tracked and his body found. An early post-mortem seems to indicate he may have been attacked by a small bird of prey as the body had tear marks on it.

Note: two different collars have been used with the numbats. They vary slightly and only one type have the 'mortality signal'.

TEAM LEADERS

Flic

During my time here at Scotia I have been very impressed with the staff supporting the research being done. Flic, Amy and Leah have each operated a pit-fall survey team, and Jennifer has made it possible for Bonny to do the research on the mala. All four girls work in these hot dry conditions, and often it is hard work, and I have never once heard them complain or whinge. In fact they are always cheerful and ready to help each other out or give a hand to anyone with any other task which needs doing. This is isolated, tough country and while doing the work you tend to get covered in dust, but at all times these four leaders seem to be able to remain very feminine and lady-like. Yep, haven't seen them chew tobacco or spit once! They also have an extensive knowledge of the country, the fauna and the flora.

My team leader is Flic (Felicity). She grew up in Orbost, eastern Victoria. She has already completed a Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science and Honours at Deakin University. She studied the Masked and Sooty owls while working as a Park ranger in Bairnsdale. After a short spell at Tidbinbilla she gained a job at Scotia in 2008, first, as a Land Management Officer, and then as part of the ecology team. She is currently studying a Masters of Wildlife Management through Macquarie University. Flic says she loves what she does and does not see it as work but rather as a way of life. She takes pride in doing a job with such an important purpose.

Amy

Leah

The other two pit-fall survey teams were led by Leah and Amy. Leah grew up on a dairy farm at Mil-lel, a town near Mount Gambia in South Australia. She has a Ph.D for her work on the reintroduction of Tamar wallabies. Leah has been here for nearly two years as a Wildlife Ecologist. Amy is at Scotia doing an internship with the ecology team It is supposed to be for six months but she has been here for nine already. She has been working as an ecology consultant for the past 5 years in Brisbane after completing her Science Degree with honours. She enjoys the chance to work with endangered animals. Since being here she has gained a lot of experience handling snakes as her pitfall survey teams always leave the snakes to the team leader to deal with.

The telemetry team I have been working with is made-up with Jennifer and Bonny. Bonny comes from Armidale and is collecting the data on the mala as part of her degree. Jennifer is the team leader and works at Scotia. She began here about six and a half years ago as a Land Management Officer. Now she works as a Field Ecologist. Most of Jennifer's work is with telemetry and management of the numbat population at Scotia.

Jennifer