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A United Fight for Fauna

A United Fight for Fauna

Dryandra: a united fight for fauna Located in Western ’s Wheatbelt region, provides a haven for a diverse range of native species, including some of ’s most endangered native – and . These species have endured significant ups and downs Dryandra: for decades, and goverment departments, landholders and community groups have been working to give them the best chance at survival. by Karla Forrest, Tony Friend and Peter Lacey shaft of light pierces a stand of wandoo trees as Parks and A Wildlife Service staff make their way through Dryandra Woodland to check the traps they set out the afternoon before. As they come upon the next trap, set beside a Gastrolobium thicket, they see the telltale yellowish-brown fur and a long tail with a black brush at its end. It’s a (Bettongia penicillata); the fourth they’ve found that morning and one of an estimated 8000 to 9000 now living in the woodland. After they take a DNA sample and record its size, age and gender, Parks and Wildlife Service staff release the woylie back into the wild, pleased to species, including the tammar wallaby From the early 1900s, parcels of land in be able to record another individual of (Notamacropus eugenii), brush wallaby this area were snapped up for wheat and a species whose population was down (Notamacropus irma), mardo (Antechinus sheep farming and stands of the valuable to only several hundred four years ago, flavipes), brushtail possum (Trichosurus brown mallet on the properties were and satisfied that the multi-dimensional vulpecula), red-tailed phascogale harvested for the thriving mallet tannin approach to their conservation is showing (Phascogale calura), malleefowl (Leipoa industry. Concerned about the unregulated signs of success. ocellata), echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) exploitation of this species, the Western This cage trapping is part of the and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii). In Australian Government set aside as State department’s ongoing monitoring in the addition, it contains a threatened ecological or timber reserves some remaining area, which staff carry out to keep a community, the upland areas less suitable for farming and watchful eye on the health and size of federally-listed ‘Eucalypt woodlands of the where natural stands of mallet were found. native species populations. Western Australian Wheatbelt’. For the Approximately one-third of Dryandra woylie and (Myrmecobius fasciatus) Woodland was actually cleared and planted WILDLIFE STRONGHOLD Dryandra Woodland is one of only a with brown mallet for the tannin industry. Dryandra Woodland is the largest handful places in Australia where they After the mallet industry ceased in the area of remaining natural woodland in still occur. late 1950s, the areas that still contained the western portion of the department’s However, managing this area to quality wildlife habitat were converted Wheatbelt Region. Just 160 kilometres protect its precious native inhabitants is to nature reserves or retained as State south-east of , it is associated made difficult by the fragmentation of the forest but managed for conservation. Both with wandoo and powderbark wandoo habitat. Dryandra Woodland is made up natural bushland and mallet plantations woodlands, heath and sheoak thickets of one large block that is the primary focus in Dryandra became a refuge for many and brown mallet plantations established for fauna recovery and 16 other smaller common and threatened species. between the 1930s and 1950s. blocks, which total 28,066 hectares, Since then, there has been an ongoing Dryandra Woodland is home to a set within a network of agricultural push for the area to be afforded greater range of both threatened and common properties. protection. In 1995, a management plan was developed for the area. This was revised in 2011 and set out the official vision Previous page for Dryandra Woodland that continues to Main Juvenile numbats at Dryandra guide the management of the area: that Woodland. Photo – Robert McLean it ‘continue to be one of the largest and Inset Woylie. most diverse remnant bushland areas in the Photo – Ann Storrie Wheatbelt, supporting a range of local flora Above Releasing a woylie at Dryandra and fauna species’. Woodland. A NEW THREAT Left Foxes have had a devastating impact on a number of native species. With the arrival of European settlers Photos – DBCA and farmers to the area came feral cats

48 LANDSCOPE Distribution of numbats and woylies Numbats Current distribution Translocated populations Historical distribution Numbats Woylies Woylies Current distribution Translocated populations Historical distribution

(Felis catus). Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and During this time, the then Department rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) arrived of Conservation and Land Management a little later, after spreading across the established its wildlife continent from their points of introduction recovery program, with the aim of in the east. controlling introduced predators to protect These animals had a devastating native animals. Dryandra Woodland was impact on native populations and foxes one of the first sites incorporated into this predated on many native species, including baiting program, which has now expanded woylies and numbats. to cover 3.8 million hectares of the State In 1982, department scientists began a with the support of industry partners. fox baiting trial using ‘1080’ – a chemically In Dryandra, funding from Western synthesised version of a toxin found in Areas has greatly supported recovery native Gastrolobium plants, to which efforts. Unfortunately, however, while native animals have a natural tolerance. the risk of being predated by foxes had Initially, the trial was carried out over a been reduced, Dryandra’s native species 2000-hectare area in Dryandra Woodland. weren’t out of the woods just yet. Hear more about the The rate of numbat sightings was work being done at OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND monitored inside and outside the baiting Dryandra INTO THE FIRE area to measure the effect of fox control Scan this QR code or on numbat numbers. After three years, During trapping and observational visit Parks and Wildlife numbat numbers had increased six-fold in surveys to monitor the health and size Service’s ‘LANDSCOPE’ the baited area, with no change outside of Dryandra’s native populations, playlist on YouTube. it. This was one of the first two studies conservation staff observed a dramatic in Australia to demonstrate the positive drop in numbers of woylies and numbats. Top Gastrolobium plant. effect of fox control on an endangered By 2004 woylies had declined by 90 per Photo – John Lawson species. cent, and the species was relisted on the Above Powderbark occurs widely in the In 1989, the fox baiting program was State’s threatened fauna list. Numbat reserve. expanded to encompass Dryandra’s main numbers had begun to decline from their Photo – Marie Lochman block. Numbat numbers continued to peak in the early 1990s and by 2014 increase and by 1996, woylie numbers the population got down to as few as were high enough in Dryandra and 50 individuals. other sites for the species to be removed Between 2006 and 2012, department animals, they showed that more than from State, national and international scientists carried out two research 50 per cent of deaths of both woylies and threatened species lists. This was the programs to determine the cause of numbats in Dryandra Woodland were due first time a species was removed from these declines. By closely monitoring to predation, while predation by the national threatened species list due to radio-collared woylies and numbats and foxes was minimal. Cat and fox numbers conservation action. sampling DNA from collars of predated were compared in baited and unbaited

LANDSCOPE 49 areas, and while cats were scarce and trial, before being officially registered for increased monitoring with cage traps and foxes common where there was no fox operational use in 2015. During this trial in cameras, habitat restoration through the baiting, the opposite was true in Dryandra the main block of Dryandra between 2012 use of fire, translocations of animals into and other baited areas. and 2015, feral cat-caused numbat deaths Dryandra to improve genetic diversity and It seemed that the vast reduction fell from 50 per cent to zero. increased community awareness including in fox numbers meant the top spot in That same year, new funding, engaging neighbouring landholders. the food chain was up for grabs. Feral provided through the Commonwealth cats had been quick to fill the role of Government’s National Landcare BEYOND THE FENCE primary predator; their good night Program, enabled department staff to Baiting was proving to be very vision, voracious hunting style and short expand cat baiting. In addition, Dryandra effective, with department staff recording reproductive cycle meant they were adept Woodland was chosen as one of four a reduction in feral cat and fox numbers and abundant predators of native species. Western Australian sites (the others within the reserve. However, data from As part of their work, department were Upper Warren, Kalbarri National cameras set up to monitor the reserve’s scientists had developed a new type of Park and the South Coast) to share in boundaries, and information from GPS 1080 bait, designed to tempt feral cats, $1.7 million to carry out broadscale collars fitted to feral cats, revealed which are notoriously fussy eaters. Named operational trials of Eradicat®. As part of they continued to come and go from ‘Eradicat®’, this bait was used in Dryandra this work, researchers focused on refining neighbouring properties, showing little Woodland as part of a widescale research the timing and delivery methods of the regard for tenure boundaries. baits. It became apparent that baiting on the During this time, department staff reserve alone was not enough; without were also implementing a range of other controlling foxes and feral cats beyond the management activities, and Dryandra reserve boundaries, they would continue was chosen as one of the sites to receive to threaten populations of numbats and Above Dryandra Woodland is surrounded by farmland. federal funding (South West Threatened woylies within the reserve. Photo – Marie Lochman Fauna Recovery Project) because of the The Farmers for Fauna Project range of threatened fauna that persisted was formed in 2017 as a collaborative Top right The Farmers for Fauna Project there and the work that was already partnership between the Peel-Harvey facilitates community workshops. being undertaken. This funding was for a Catchment Council, community group range of activities including integrating cat Above right Cage traps are used to survey Project Numbat and DBCA’s Parks and the fauna in the area. baits into the baiting program, continued Wildlife Service. The program capitalised Photos – DBCA fox baiting, shooting and trapping cats, on the enthusiasm of neighbouring

50 LANDSCOPE Our wonderful Wheatbelt wildlife

Above A feral cat waiting to ambush its prey. As Western Australia’s animal emblem, the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is much-loved by locals for its Above right Chuditch also occur at Dryandra Woodland. striking looks, with distinctive striped fur, long pointed face Photos – Jiri Lochman and bottlebrush-shaped tail. Once widespread in eucalypt woodlands extending into and New South Inset right Numbats shelter in log hollows. Wales, the numbat now only exists naturally in the wild in two Photo – Kaitlyn York/DBCA places – Dryandra Woodland and the Upper Warren area. Below right Woylies have a . Unlike most , the numbat is diurnal (active Photo – David Bettini during the day), a schedule dictated by that of its only food source: termites. A single numbat can eat up to 20,000 termites in a day, roughly equal to 10 per cent of its body weight. landholders, who were keen to play a contributes to numbat conservation through a breeding program that role in the protection of native wildlife, provides animals for reintroductions in suitable habitat across WA and interstate. Zoo- and built on community education work bred numbats have also been released into Dryandra to supplement numbers there that was already underway as part of the and help maintain genetic diversity. operational Eradicat® program. The numbat is listed as endangered under both WA’s Biodiversity Conservation Act As part of the project, Farmers for 2016, and the Commonwealth’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999. Fauna held community workshops and Perhaps less-known but no less important, the woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) events; offered training so farmers could is another key focus for researchers and conservation staff at Dryandra. The small, become accredited in the use of 1080 kangaroo- stands about 30 centimetres tall and weighs about one kilogram. baits on their land; and distributed cage It has a prehensile tail that allows it to carry bark, leaves and grass, which it uses traps and cat food for use in the traps. to make nests in dense heath and Gastrolobium thickets, living mainly on a diet of The program also focused on educating underground fungi, bulbs, tubers and seeds. landholders and other community With a State listing of ‘Critically Endangered’ and a federal listing of ‘Endangered’, it is members about responsible cat ownership. at a higher risk of extinction than the numbat. Parks and Wildlife Service staff In 1996, it became the first-ever animal to be removed from the national threatened developed a reference book that contained species list due to conservation action, before a dramatic population decline across photos and notes on known feral and its range prompted its relisting as threatened in 2004 and upgrade to critically domestic cats in the area. They gathered endangered in 2014 on the State’s threatened species list. the information for this document, which they call ‘the CATalogue’, by recording the markings and locations of cats sighted in and around Dryandra Woodland, and assigning each individual cat a number. The battle against feral cats was further bolstered in July 2019, when feral cats were officially declared pests in Western Australia under the Biosecurity and Management Act 2007. Notably, the declaration differentiated between ‘feral’, ‘stray’ and ‘domestic’ cats, relating to the degree to which the

LANDSCOPE 51 cats are living and reproducing in the wild. WHERE TO NEXT targeted expansion of suitable new habitat Armed with the CATalogue, local shooters explored. Since 2014, department staff have were tasked with removing the known Recently, additional funding from the been carrying out fauna monitoring on feral cats, while department staff became Commonwealth Government has been the main block of Dryandra Woodland familiar with the area’s domestic cats that awarded to the Peel-Harvey Catchment using motion-sensing cameras, and have were owned by landholders. Discussions Council, which will enable Farmers for recently set up additional cameras on some with landholders were used to promote Fauna to continue under the Numbat satellite blocks. These surveys help to build keeping cats in at night and ensuring they Neighbourhood Project. This extra a picture of the health and abundance are microchipped, sterilised and registered funding will be used to add value to the of the animals; cameras detect trends in with the local council. work already being done by Parks population size, while cage trapping enables Local landholders have also helped and Wildlife Service. It will allow for staff to determine how the animals are reduce the number of feral cats in the additional baiting, the extension of faring and the population age structure. By area; since 2015, farmers have removed monitoring surveys within and outside getting a more holistic view of the species, hundreds of feral cats from properties near department-managed lands, weed control significant changes in populations can be the conservation area. and ongoing community education. detected quickly. Pleasingly, these surveys Local Dryandra farmer Cameron With a continued emphasis on have revealed an increased presence Christensen, whose property neighbours collaboration, the outlook for these of wallabies, possums, echidnas and Dryandra Woodland, has been involved in animals, and a variety of other native phascogales, and, even more encouragingly, the Farmers for Fauna since its inception species that share their special woodland and said his involvement in the program greater numbers of woylies and numbats. home, is bright. was driven by a desire to care for the Department staff have also received natural environment. reports of sightings from nearby farmers and John Lawson, the manager of the “I’m a conservationist at heart. I like Above left Echidnas also occur in Dryandra to see our native animals doing better than Lions Dryandra Woodland Village. Woodland. good in our environment,” he said. Meanwhile, regular LANDSCOPE Photo – Sallyanne Cousans “Foxes and feral cats were causing contributor and wildlife photographer Jiri Above Mardo sightings have increased Lochman, who frequently visits Dryandra a huge disturbance to the natural greatly in Dryandra Woodland. environment, through predation.” Woodland to photograph the landscape Photo – Jiri Lochman Cameron said he has witnessed an and its native animal residents, has reported a vast increase in mardos. increase in native wildlife on and around Karla Forrest is a DBCA his farm, which lies just to the east of the While these are encouraging signs, communications officer. She can be Dryandra Woodland main block. work at Dryandra Woodland must contacted on (08) 9219 9818 or by email “I’m very proud of what we’ve been continue at a landscape-scale. For ([email protected]). Peter Lacey is a Parks and Wildlife able to achieve so far,” he said. numbers of woylies and numbats to Service conservation coordinator. He believes feral cat control is increase, their habitat will need to be He can be contacted by email essential for all farmers in the area. protected. In particular, maintaining ([email protected]). “It is something that all farmers need and increasing thickets of the woylie’s Tony Friend is a DBCA Biodiversity and to do to for disease control, but also to preferred Gastrolobium habitat, ongoing Conservation Science principal research scientist. He can be contacted by email keep the natural environment around your predator control and translocation ([email protected]). farm healthy.” programs will need to continue and

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