Parks Victoria’s Joanne Antrobus (right) expressed appreciation to Judith Eardley’s Peter Hannaford and Healesville Sanctuary veteterinarian Dr. Rupert Baker. 33975
By Kath Gannaway
LEADBEATER’S Possum was battling against ecological odds before the February bushfires.
Victoria’s faunal emblem, along with the Brush-tailed Phascogale and Broad-toothed Rat, are among the native animals whose population numbers were decimated in the fires.
Joanne Antrobus who heads Parks Victoria’s major Leadbeater’s Possum program said it was recognised that immediate action was needed in the wake of the fires to maximise any chance of survival for those animals which survived the fires.
A $51,762 donation from Healesville’s Judith Eardley Save Wildlife Centre provided the money she and her team needed to start work.
Ms Antrobus said as of early July only six Leadbeater’s Possums had been sighted in the Lake Mountain area where once there was a population of up to 300.
Judith Eardley director, Peter Hannaford, said the centre’s small team of volunteers had committed more than $100,000 to bushfire relief.
“We allocated some of the money for feeding animals in the wild and supported the making of nest boxes through the Warburton Men’s Shed, but we also wanted some of the money to go to people helping endangered species,” Mr Hannaford said.
Ms Antrobus said the money had gone towards monitoring remaining populations for all three species to determine how they had fared and survived the fires and that small numbers of each species had been recorded at key local locations.
New nest boxes have been installed at Lake Mountain for the Leadbeater’s Possum and a feeding program established along with video surveillance.
The money is also supporting the training of volunteers to help with monitoring and feeding programs.
The Judith Eardley donation has meant we have been able to start these projects immediately,” Ms Antrobus said.
“Without groups like Judith Eardley, Healesville Sanctuary and the Friends of Leadbeter’s Possum, we would really struggle to do as much as we would like to. This enables us to be more involved and to make a difference,” she said.
South Australian Rotary Clubs have also pitched in to help Parks Victoria by donating 1,000 nesting boxes, the first of which were handed over last week.
Some 200 of the boxes were delivered to Kinglake, where Green Corps volunteers have put their hands up to install the boxes.
