Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Welcome to Yalgorup National park.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife have been relocating Western Ringtail possums here
for a number of years now since since 1991.
The vegetation in Yalgorup National Park is perfectly suited to the Western Ringtail possum.
There is lots of peppermint, there are lot's of Tuarts, and they can also create
dreys, which is their sleeping area.
up in the heights of the trees. With all the moisture coming off the ocean,
there is enough water around the place, and there is lots of places to make their home.
There are no rings on a Ringtail possum.
They've got quite a long white tip to the tail, and you can see
it curling and curling around. They'll whip that tail out, and then
use it to help them to get to the next branch.
The aboriginal name for the Western Ringtail possum is the Ngwayir.
This possum like just about everything else in this part of the world, is unique.
The Ngwayir, is so iconic of what is in the South West of
Western Australia.
we have here a biodiversity hotspot.
The Western Ringtail possum lives very closely with the
Brushtail possum. Brushtail possums have quite a furry tail,
all the way down. It could be white, or it could be black. The Western Ringtail possum is a
very timid creature.
It lives right at the top of the canopy, it comes out at night time so you won't
see it through the day, what you will see at night time though
move through the tops to the canopy. The timid nature of these western Ringtail possums
mains that they don't have the defenses that other animals have.
The Western Ringtail possum itself is in decline.
If we don't take action, if we don't implement changes,
then this species will go from a threatened species, down to perhaps,
critically endangered, which means it's just about just one step away from
becoming extinct.
due to climate change, developments, agriculture,
the distribution of the Western Ringtail possum has contracted markedly.
So you can see them still around Bunbury and Busselton, there's a large area around
Perup where you'll see them, and also around
Albany.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife have a program of
translocating Western Ringtail possums, from the areas where they're
being impacted
up into Yalgorup National park. So that their numbers can
increase in a natural environment. We're doing this to turn around the decline of
the species.
I think translocation can be a really good help, if it's done correctly.
If we can go to an area that isn't habitat, make that habitat by taking
away the threats, and the limiting factors
then we can release them there, and set up populations quite successfully.
Whenever you do a release, whenever you open that bag or open up the cage door,
it could be that there's a reptile around, or could be a snake close by,
so you've got to look at your environment before you release anything,
and then open those doors and let them go. the Ringatil possum
doesn't really recognize introduced predators, particularly
cats, it hasn't evolved with these animals, so it doesn't fear them, so it's
likely to walk right up to them and you often end up with ex-possums that way.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife have the Western Shield program, to
decrease the number of
feral animals or introduced predators in a specific location.
We have less predators, that can eat them and so their populations
can expand. Wildlife volunteer rehabilitators take from us
injured and sick wildlife, care for them for a number of days, sometimes weeks
before we can then take them and put them back into the native habitat.
These animals very quickly can be susceptible to
water stress and heat stress, and actually fall out of trees.
What people need to do if they come across in injured or sick wild animal, is to call WILDCARE HELPLINE.
it really needs to be handed to you people we know exactly what they're doing.
In releasing an animal into the wild they have to be 100 percent healthy.
If they've been with carers for too long that could become imprinted, which means
they become dependent on people feeding them regularly,
and keeping him in a sheltered position, and they lose this wild instinct
which makes them more susceptible to predation when they are out in the wild.
In Yalgorup, we're having a good result with our translocations' but the story
is not the same throughout the whole
of the Southwest, and for this particular species it's going to be very important
that we all work together in each individual can have a hand,
in making sure these animals do survive. We were doing a bit of road widening,
taking branches off the trees, young chopper here had fallen from the nest and
landed in the sand.
Sandra picked her up and took her to the Wildlife carer, and here she is.
ready to be released back in to the natural habitat. This is a point, where
if you do it properly, translocation can be incredibly valuable.
but if we don't do this, we don't recognize habitats, and we don't make habitats
then we will possibly lose this animal.
You're camping in their natural environment. they've got their peppermint, their wildflower blossoms
and they happy with that,
so don't feed them please, very important message.
So with your help, the backing the researchers, and with all of our
volunteers, we will have a species, not going to extinction,
but being with us for many years to come.
So enjoy your stay in Yalgorup National park.