CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
Spring and summer bring in many distressed animals. True to form we have animals coming out of our ears. We need HELP!!
The Busselton Show once again proved beneficial for our animals and members, at least once the hard work was done and the animals had all gone home, huge sigh of relief.
Happily people were extremely generous and hurrah, we received the record amount of $2,311.45 in donations, a big boost to our coffers.
Cheryl Campbell was awarded Carer of the year and took home a range of organic wines donated by Joy and Simon Ensor from Yelverton Brook Eco Retreat.
Many thanks to everybody who helped out on the day, we couldn’t have done it without you.
We attended the “Call of the Wild” open day recently and received a positive response from members of the public. Thanks to Madeline for inviting us.
On Steve Irwin Memorial Day “Best and Less” staff and management made donations and asked the public to donate to FAWNA in his memory. We are grateful to receive $99.60 in donations and thank “Best and Less” for considering us a worthy recipient.
Recently we were successful in our application for the Volunteer Small Equipment Grant. We now have a new video camera, a projector and screen, sunshade and trestle table.
Our valued life member Isabelle Devoy recently passed away after being in care for some time. Several FAWNA members attended Isabelle’s beautiful funeral to farewell this special lady. Our world and that of our native animals, is so much better for Isabelle having had a hand in looking out for it.
Kristy Gawthrop
CAUSEWAY ROAD DEPOT REPORT
It has been an extremely busy three months, getting steadily worse during the last three weeks. We are all getting very tired and over run with Birds. There hasn’t been many baby possums or joeys in lately so anyone who is waiting for one please consider trying a baby bird instead. They are very enjoyable, take half as much time to feed, although they do require food more often and will be gone in half as much time.
The ducks and swans have been coming in regularly and I have already released two lots of ducks. The cygnets started quite early this year, walking of the wetlands when there is still plenty of water around. I only hope we don’t end up with a year like last.
We have been receiving some very uncommon babies this year and nothing is following any kind of schedule. You have no idea what’s coming next.
We have received five baby tawny frogmouths in the last four weeks, all different sizes and very cute. They are going through mice like nothing.
I have also had three bandicoots over the last two months. They were all cat attacks and sadly only one survived.
Another unusual one was a Pygmy possum that had been attacked by a cat but she managed to survive and got released five days later.
Call me if you would like to care for anything. Please help relieve the load on our depots.
Kristy Gawthrop
BUSSELTON ANNUAL SHOW – 2007
Once again the FAWNA display was a great success and I think the usual Volunteers and carers should be proud of their efforts.
The public interest was evident as the steady flow of people, including excited children who received an animal stamp on their hands, started coming through the gate from 08.30am till 4.00pm with many questions asked, and answered by the carers. Many complimentary comments were noted.
Milli the Echidna proved to be a showstopper again as he waddled around checking out the scenery. There were many animal pictures shown in the tent area, where face painting and animal drawing was also popular, Some other animals on display included Joeys, Ducklings, Possums, Budgies, Mini-horse and Alpacas.
A survey form that was handed to many of the visitors was filled out with positive comments and suggestions and will be collated in the future. The pram parking area was utilised to the maximum, as it made moving around the various displays a lot easier.
So at about 4.30pm the recaging of animals, dismantling of tents and display boards, signalled the end of another educational display.
Len Porter
Western ringtail possum translocation project update: November 2007
Over the past couple of months I have continued to monitor radio-collared translocated ringtails and resident brushtail possums at my three study sites (Leschenault Peninsula, Martin’s Tank and Preston Beach Road). Ten of the 21 ringtails translocated in July are still alive, evenly spread between the 3 sites. Two others are off the air following early collar failure. Two animals translocated a year ago are also still alive. The survival rate at Leschenault is currently better than last year. Several of the female possums that were translocated with small pouch young in July have raised and weaned their offspring. I have just finished re-collaring 8 of the translocated ringtails, and all were in similar body condition to that at the time of release. I have also recaptured and re-collared most of my brushtail possums, all of which were in good body condition and many with juvenile young.
The peppermint foliage is currently in better condition than it was earlier in the year. It will be interesting to see if the wetter winter and spring this year will result in the trees maintaining condition better over this summer than last. Python activity has begun (one recent death of a ringtail), but cat and fox predation has dropped off. The latter might be due in part to increased rabbit numbers at present.
Possum monitoring and radio-tracking will continue over the summer. I will be carrying out spotlight surveys in Jan-Feb to try and determine ringtail possum population densities at my three sites, and to look at habitat partitioning between ringtails and brushtails. My field work is due to finish in March, but I expect that any surviving ringtail possums will continue to be monitored after that date by either myself (survival monitoring only) or someone else. The remainder of next year will be spent analysing my data (survivorship, home range, survey results etc) and writing up my thesis. Predator surveys will continue to take place at the translocation sites and work is underway to test the safety of cat baits with the view to instigating a cat baiting programme at Leschenault in the not-too-distant future (Paul de Tores and others).
Judy Clarke
Possum Ecology and Health Project Update
Research work is continuing at the Tuart Forest National Park site and at Gelorup, although the comfort of fieldwork in the bush decreases with the warm weather and flies! I am continuing to track both ringtails and brushtails at both sites, collecting data on both diurnal and nocturnal locations. The team recently decided that my work won’t include Locke Nature Reserve after all, due to time limitations.
I have recently retrapped most of the radiocollared brushtails at Ludlow in order to replace their collars. I have removed the “contact” collars that recorded interactions, and although the technology is proving to be imperfect we’re hoping to get some really interesting data on social behaviour of brushtails.
Judy and I presented talks at the annual meeting of the Wildlife Disease Association (Australasian branch of an international group) at Dryandra in September. There were a lot of vets and biologists with years of experience in wildlife disease and it was fascinating to hear about the work people are doing, including a selection of zoo cases, Tasmanian Devil tumours, bird flu and the woylie decline project here in WA.
Most of the female possums that I have caught recently have had babies on board, including some twins. The animals are all healthy, as this is the peak time of year for body condition. I’ve had fairly low mortality rates over the last few months, with deaths restricted to the brushtails at Gelorup. This study site is not baited with 1080, and deaths appear to be due to opportunistic fox predation when the possums are active on the ground.
The next couple of months will be spend recollaring some ringtails, continuing radiotracking, and hopefully catching some more possums of both species at Gelorup to boost numbers.
Helen McCutcheon 9751 5981, 0438 993 584 or helen.mccutcheon@dec.wa.gov.au.
An Echidna Story Part 2
In the first part of Milli’s story I stated that he had only once shown his male credentials. I was wrong. I was reminded that he actually had put on quite a show at a CALM bush day a few years ago, at Wharnecliffe mill, and he quickly gathered onlookers. Consequently he became the star of the show although one or two people were embarrassed. I remember now that one of them was me.
During the first weeks in his new abode Milli made many attempts to escape, without success. However, every time I let him out he simply tried to return to the house. He made a beeline for the back door and pushed against it. He has worked out a method of banging the door with his shoulder and he does not let up.
He still does this, nine years later, and if I let him inside he goes straight to his favourite cupboard and wedges himself under there, or in winter, straight to the fire.
Also, when I let him out for a run he will quickly disappear under a car if I don’t watch him closely. He will quietly sit in the middle under it. He does this so that I can’t reach him and each time I go to one side he will shift ever so slightly to the other. He simply sits there watching to ensure that he cannot be reached. It is a battle of wits. The trick to get him out is to pretend to disappear yourself by going in to the house or shed and watching from the window until he comes out far enough for you to race out and grab him before he can get back under it. It usually takes some considerable time
Echidnas have a reputation for incredible persistence and Milli has certainly proven that time and again over the years. He simply never gives up and never ever sulks.
Milli’s pen has one wall shared with the shed while the other three sides are made of a large two metre high wooden frame with chicken wire stretched around the whole frame. Corrugated iron is dug a half a metre into the ground stretching to half a metre above ground over the wire. The door is reinforced and padlocked tightly. There are numerous logs and old cast iron sinks in his pen for his choice of sleeping places. He prefers the heavy sinks, rarely using the logs.
In the first year I found Milli near the top of the frame twice. He was determined to escape. He had moved his log up to the iron and had climbed on top of it to be able to reach and get a grip on the wire. He had obviously been able to climb with only the use of his front legs and he was quite firmly attached when I prised him from the wire. In another minute he would have reached the top board of the frame and there is no doubt that he would have been gone – maybe only to our door- but maybe not, especially if he were searching for a female echidna.
That urge is usually taken out on my toes, which must smell a little like a female echidna, as he gets quite amorous toward toes – particularly female ones.
Milli has the run of his large enclosure and chooses when and what he wants to do. Hence he sleeps, forages, eats, climbs, digs, scratches, sunbakes, digs a burrow under the shed or tries to escape, all entirely when it suits him.
The temperature is his only regulator. When it is too cold in winter he will go into a torpor and may not eat for days. In summer, if it is too hot, he will do the same, albeit to a lesser extent. In the heat of summer he will be active all night but rest under the ground or his logs during the day.
We often bring termite filled logs from our Boyup Brook farm for Milli to rip to pieces. One would expect that he would relish these events and he does love to rip them apart but he is a very fussy eater and does not like all of the termites. There is a train of thought that echidnas prefer the drone and nurse types and it does seem as though he does not like the “workers” much.
These activities keep him fit and pare his nails back although his back toenails have to be clipped due to his inability to use them.
The sores that have been part of his life in captivity sometimes reappear, particularly in winter when there is little sun for him to dry them out, but they are few and minor these days. The hair has completely regrown on his belly.
During the last nine years Milli has been used for educational purposes on dozens of occasions, primarily school visits. The preschool and primary school classes are the most rewarding. I love to see the awe and wonder in the faces of the students and the excitement that ensues is rather difficult for the teachers to control. Our policy these days is to visit each class just before a break as the visit always extends past the suggested time and always attracts more teachers and classes.
I always know that I will get questions directed to me that I cannot answer. My favourite is: How many spikes does Milli have? I don’t think anyone has ever sat down and counted them and I truly don’t have the time-One Day!!
Echidnas love to swim. Milli loves his bath now but was quite worried initially when he was immersed. As he has no use of his back legs due to the spinal injury he felt vulnerable. Early in his life with us I bathed him in water just covering him so that he could use his front feet to walk along but could also float the rest of his body. He now loves being in the water, seemingly having learnt to trust that he is safe. He swims and floats obviously with much relief for his body, likes to keep his head under water for frightening lengths of time – I have never been able to let him stay under water as long as he could- all the while blowing bubbles, and thoroughly enjoys his towelling down after baths.
Milli has also been in the local papers many times and on television once.
Other displays include the CALM bush days and Land for Wildlife events, Busselton Show for FAWNA, the Ironman competition, the Jets fun run, Call of the Wild open day, Capel Fest, BDEC Schools visit, Olympic Landcare planting day for the Capel LCDC, two healing festivals, several seniors club visits and many other small events.
Most of the schools and classes raise funds for FAWNA. as do countless other groups. FAWNA now regards Milli as their mascot, a good choice as he has survived well and suffers no ill effects from displays and handling, unlike many of our native animals.
I did regret that my boy could not have a normal life in the wild but know that he would not survive the first few hours out in the bush. I look forward to a long association with my echidna. He is an absolute delight.
Cheryl Campbell
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