The sighting of a hog deer in Coldstream has raised alarm bells for Victoria’s endangered species and agricultural sector.
Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) parks and nature campaigner Jordan Crook was driving to the tip in Coldstream when he spotted the feral species of deer.
“I was driving to the tip to take some stuff from a job, and yeah, just saw this thing crossing the road, I thought it was a sheep or something.
“I slowed down and was like, ‘Oh crikey, that’s a hog deer,’” Mr Crook said.
Since hog deer aren’t normally found as far inland as the Yarra Valley, the sight was unexpected for Mr Crook.
But it also carried with it a sense of worry, as hog deers do a lot of damage to ecologically sensitive environments.
“This is a dark day for the Yarra Valley, this population must be removed before it establishes and smashes the little amount of swampy riparian woodland we have left,” Mr Crook said.
“It’s terrible news for agriculture and the environment out here, just because of how much damage they do.”
On the iNaturalist app, Mr Crook’s hog deer sighting is the only one in the Yarra Ranges, with the rest being mainly in Wilson Promontory National Park and near the coast.
The species are considered a growing problem due to the significant damage they can cause to ecologically sensitive areas.
Hog deer got their name because they run through forests with their heads hung low in a hog-like manner, ducking under obstacles instead of jumping over them like other species of deer.
Mr Crook said this was a worry for the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum populations, as hog deers are attracted to similar habitats.
“They like swamps and rivers, and that’s also what the helmeted honeyeater and the lowland leadbeater’s possums rely on, and they’re only found in Yellingbo in the Yarra Valley.
“If hog deer were to establish a population it would be devastating for lowland leadbeater’s possum and helmeted honeyeaters.”
There’s only one wild relic population of helmeted honeyeaters in the Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area in Yellingbo, which is also home to swamps that hog deers can be found in.
Mr Crook said more investigations needed to be done to figure out the extent of a hog deer population in the Yarra Valley.
