Australian Bush Life

Lake Mountain Leadbeater's Possum nest box in snow. After 2009 bushfire.

The Leadbeater’s Possum is an endangered species found only in Victoria, Australia – no where else in the whole world. It lives in the forests near where we live and so we spend time volunteering with a local group of dedicated individuals who are all trying to ensure that this possum survives in the wild. The volunteer group are called Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum. Since the bushfires in February 2009 it is estimated that the Leadbeater’s Possum numbers declined from an estimated 3000 individuals to 1000 individuals so they really need our help.

Providing nectar feed to feeding station for Leadbeater's Possum.

Recently we went to nearby Lake Mountain an area that was hit really hard by the bushfire and assisted in a supplementary feeding program for the Leadbeater’s Possum. We had to walk a 10km circuit in snow shoes to deliver the food which was a great experience. There is a lack of available food on Lake Mountain as the alpine environment grows slowly and takes a long time to recover from bushfire. With only a few remaining Leadbeater’s Possums left in this area and with so many others lost in the bushfire the feeding program will ensure that any remaining possums have the best chance of survival during the harsh winter months.

The biggest threats to Leadbeater’s Possums ongoing survival in the wild are from logging practices and bushfire reduction methods. This includes “salvage” logging where trees are harvested from burnt forest trying to recover after a bushfire. Salvage logging is done under the guise of the word ”salvage”. Trying to make logging sound like a good and useful process avoiding waste, the dead and dying forest after bushfire. All of which is quite untrue as our natural bush recovers quite well from bushfire if it is left to regenerate without being bulldozed.

Also threatening the Leadbeater’s Possums survival in the wild is from bushfire prevention methods such as bulldozing new fire breaks which reduces the connection of trees within the forest which the possums rely on to move. A road may be an impassable barrier for such a small possum. Additionally excessive fuel reduction burning which may destroy critical habitat, such as mature or older trees particularly those with hollows which could provide homes from Leadbeater’s Possums.

Bush Rat - Rattus fuscipes. Volunteering trap and release program.

We spent the last weekend doing some volunteer work around Lake Mountain near Marysville. The area was severely burnt during the February 2009 bushfires and we joined up with some local Parks Victoria staff to set and bait “Elliot” traps amongst new growth of ground cover plants. The aim was to trap and release to see if we could find some of the rarer small mammals that were previously recorded in these mountain areas and see what had survived the devastating bushfire. We were particularly looking for a threatened species the Broad-toothed Rat - Masacomys fuscus.

Unfortunately on the day we helped out we didn’t find any Broad-toothed Rats but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there! We did find lots of our native rat more commonly known as the Bush Rat – Rattus fuscipes. This Bush Rat is pretty cute, more softer looking than the introduced Brown and Black rats and have quite a different diet of native vegetation, fungi and insects - whereas the introduced ones eat pretty much anything and everything which can be devastating on the environment.

The native Bush Rat can be easily identified from a Brown or Black rat by the length of their tail, which is shorter than their body length. Brown and Black rats have tails longer than their body length.

We chose to volunteer our time to understand more about the local indigenous plants and wildlife in our local forest. Trapping animals gives us the chance to see animals that we may otherwise never see, as they are generally shy and nocturnal. The Bush Rat habitat relies on having good ground cover vegetation, habitat logs and leaf litter to provide food and shelter. Maybe this is why we also don’t see them on our bush block as many of our neighbours have cleared away their ground cover vegetation, habitat logs and leaf litter reducing the quality of their bush habitat.

Bush Rat in Elliot trap - ready for release.

As we live quite close to this mountain area and being a National Park (state government land) we believe that the land, forest and all it’s animals are the responsibility of all Victorians. It is really up to us to get involved, to find out what is out there and learn how we can continue to look after what we find.

Wader (beach bird) ready for release after banding and data recorded.

When we go on holidays we try to get involved in volunteer activities wherever we go. We find that this is a good way to connect with local people and also generally like minded people so it is always fun and interesting. We have been WWOOFing many times around Australia. Generally with WWOOFing you tend to help out with people around their homes, lots of organic growing vegetables, permaculture techniques etc which is a really great way to learn about how other people grow food. But we also really like to work on specific biodiversity projects as this helps us get connected with nature and particularly wildlife.

Cannon netting wading birds near Broome - Western Australia.

We have enjoyed all the different volunteer experiences that we have had. Here is where we caught wading birds by cannon netting them in Broome Western Australia. Recording data about each bird we caught, banding them and then releasing them. All part of a ongoing program where they have been collecting data on migratory birds (waders) for years.