Secretary’s Notes

Welcome to Autumn! No more heat stress days to worry about for our Grey-Headed Flying Foxes and Ringtail Possums. We still have babies in from those days and they will be old enough to release over the next couple of months. Our bigger shelters still have fire affected kangaroos in care for probably another couple of months as well. What a busy Summer we had. A big thank you to all volunteers involved in these big events.

A reminder that due to the Easter long weekend, Aprils Committee and General meeting dates have been postponed for a couple of weeks. Please see the “Event Calendar” section for new dates.

Those who attended the trip to the Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary in Chewton had a most enjoyable day. We saw many birds ranging from Finches to Wedgetail Eagles, and a wide range of reptiles and mammals. We got to chat with (some people danced with) some of the birds, we all got to pat a couple of lizards, a python, wombat and dingo. And much to my delight got to go into the koala enclosure and have photos taken. The weather was perfect, wildlife presentations were nicely spread out and informative and there was no rush to get to see all of the animals. The kids there were enjoying it all with plenty of nice spots to sit, relax and have a drink and some lunch or a snack. If you haven’t been before, I thoroughly recommend you book in a trip there. You can visit their website at https://www.jirrahlinga.com.au/ for further information.

February General Meeting

WRIN received 22 donations totalling $4543. Letter received from Rotary Club thanking us for our efforts in selling Christmas raffle tickets.

Payments made:

2 x Maldon Market Stalls $16.50 each

2 x Telstra Bills $82.90 each

10 Reimbursements totalling $2,078.87

10 rescue baskets $150.00

Discussion on attendance numbers at presentations being a concern. It was suggested to have presentations on a separate day to General Meetings and to do more advertising of the event.

$3,508.30 in donations received since the local bushfire started. WRIN to put all donations received within a month from when the fires started straight into helping the fire victims. Fire expenses so far:

$1,345.36 Medications & special bandaging
$500.00 Petrol vouchers, 10 x $50
$1,500 3 x $500 donations to Red Box Shelter, McIntyre Shelter & Faraday Shelter.

Brenda applied on behalf of WRIN for the WIRES and Woolworths Food Support Program. The application was accepted and we were granted $1,100, which has been paid into an account with Warriors4Wildlife for WRIN to purchase feed products.

Fundraising: Christmas raffle raised $372. Winners: 1^st – Kristy Morrison, 2^nd – Mr Gayle (CFA), 3^rd – Rosie (CFA)
Maldon Market, December $142 & January $94

Wildlife Group Collaboration

Representatives of the Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network (MRWN) attended meeting to discuss how MRWN, Ballarat Wildlife Rescue and Conservation (BWRAC) and WRIN can work together. The following minutes were taken by Jo Fischer.

What are the benefits of a strategic alliance amongst wildlife groups?

• There can be strength in collaboration
• There is a need for a stronger presence
• working together in areas such as advocacy, training of rescuers & carers, educating the wider community about the work we do and the wildlife we are caring for. MRWN have drawn up a starting document concerning this proposed collaboration between MRWN, WRIN & BWRAC. Once this has been presented to their committee it will be shared with the Bendigo and Ballarat groups.

What is envisaged as an appropriate structure?

An umbrella organization which would have a name, an on-line presence, annual shared training program and a memorandum of understanding. The on-line presence would be structured so each group has a page, and the site would refer people with questions to the specific wildlife group. Training programs for the year would be shared and able to be attended by members of each group. This collaboration would enable sharing of resources. For example, Ballarat have developed a training program for wildlife carers and rescuers which have been approved by Wildlife Vic. There could also be a phone operator training course and an educational program for the public including information about road safety and what to do in the event of a collision with wildlife. MRWN have additionally trialled macropod walks and talks.

Who would be involved?

MRWN, BWRAC & WRIN would be involved initially. Further down the track possible collaboration with Wildlife Vic and other smaller wildlife groups. Wildlife Vic has at times been unresponsive to efforts by MRWN to engage and so they would not be looking to involve them in the short term. MRWN do work with Wildlife Vic in terms of using their phone operators and their traveling Vet service.

What resources can be pooled?

Knowledge about a variety of things such as successful approaches to Council, rescuer and carer training and community education programs, successful speed reduction signage.

What are the benefits of aligning a Wildlife Awareness Month (potentially in October)?

Whilst this has merit, MRWN has found that a focus on a single month can put stress on volunteers. MRWN continue to have a focus on October, however, they spread markets and other activities across the year.

Should we align a Celebration of World Kangaroo Day on 24th October across the region?

MRWN have organised macropod walk & talk with the assistance of Kangaroos Alive. Kangaroos Alive organise brochures, flags, training, and it is conducted by a member of the wildlife group. MRWN have invited schools to come to them and participate.

Signage for seasonal wildlife movements.

WRIN will follow this up further with DEECA to see if they can assist with this information.

Ways in which we have each been able to successfully work with other organisations including Landcare, Wildlife Vic, our Councils.

MRWN have done a presentation to Council, met with the sustainability officer and some of their members are also members of the local landcare group. They have been successful in applying for Council grants.

Community education.

MRWN were presenting in schools & girl guides but have pulled back a bit from this as they found the expectation was that they would bring wildlife with them which is not appropriate or able to be done under DEECA regulations. An outreach program such as this can help with recruiting, building a profile including encouraging Council awareness of the work done.

What are the steps needed to establish this umbrella organisation?

• Sharing the document proposing the establishment of an umbrella organisation that has been developed by MRWN. This will be shared with Ballarat and Bendigo groups.
• Meeting of representatives from the three groups to work through the document.
• Start off as a working group to look at issues and synergies.
• Meet on a need’s basis e.g.: applications to organisations such as Bendigo Bank, Vic Gov, local Councils.

Central Victorian Bat Alliance

The Central Victorian Bat Alliance (CVBA) purpose is community education, advocacy and awareness raising about the positive role bats play in our ecosystem dispelling myths and misinformation.

With intense Summer heat subsiding the Grey-headed Flying-fox colony is relaxing and enjoying cooler days to care for pups learning to fly! During Summer heat stress days over 40C. the colony benefited from DEECA and City of Greater Bendigo collaboration, and bat rescue and care triage provided by CVBA and WRIN volunteers. CVBA spent a day with DEECA’s team and vets to help monitor the colony and detect signs of heat stress.

Many pups required heat stress care for themselves or because their mothers had succumbed to heat stress; however, the colony remained in reasonable condition due to rotating activation of misting sprinklers, cordoned-off public access and footpaths, daily colony monitoring, and on-site presence of DEECA – actions that saved many hundreds of batty-lives in Bendigo’s colony.

Kudos to Castlemaine and regional bat rescuers and carers who worked tirelessly for their pups and adults without the benefits of misting sprinklers etc, often by themselves in the field-this is a key area that needs addressing at both local and regional level. Tragically, Victoria had unsupported camps that collapsed and our overall population has taken a huge hit that will take generations to recover. CVBA Bat Patrol continues to monitor Rosalind Park Fernery to locate bats requiring triage to rescuers and to chat with locals and visitors about the colony; there is interest in a similar program being considered for Castlemaine Botanic Gardens.

Our community radio show ‘Bats and Banter’ is well received on 1st & 2nd Monday each month, 12-1pm on 106.7 Phoenix FM with guests including Jenny Wolswinkel, Nature Network Coordinator, Dr Lawrie Conole, ecologist bat advocate, and Ericka, founder of Microbats Melbourne and PhD candidate. If you have a bat or wildlife story or a project to share, please contact secretary.cvballiance@gmail.com to arrange an interview.

We learn and share by participating in events such as the Women in Conservation Breakfast at Larnangurrak Dja Dja Wurrung Corporate and Community Centre, Bendigo Sustainability Festival, Nature Network Member Forum and are planning a bat-stall for Nature in the Mall, Colony Walk and Talks, and Winter Fly-out. All interested in bat conservation are welcome to attend monthly third Friday afternoon meetings at Kangaroo Flat Library. Finally, a huge thank you to local batty rescuers and carers – with your dedicated care hundreds of bats, if not thousands over the long term, will survive, thrive and go on to enjoy life back in the Wild!

Julie Sloan

Wildlife – The Dingo

The Dingo is Australia’s wild dog. It is an ancient breed of domestic dog that was introduced to Australia, probably by Asian seafarers, about 4,000 years ago. The earliest undisputed archaeological finding of the Dingo in Australia has been dated to 3,250 years ago.

The Dingo is a placental mammal which means it gives birth to live young, feeds its young via mammary glands that produce milk and has fur or hair of some form. The colour of a Dingo’s coat is largely determined by where it lives. The standard coat colour is ginger with white feet. However, in the desert areas, the fur is more golden yellow while in forested areas the fur can be a darker tan to black. The body fur is short while the tail is quite bushy. Its dog-like appearance with a relatively broad head and erect ears makes the Dingo Australia’s largest mammal carnivore. With canine teeth longer than those of a domestic dog, the Dingo’s muzzle is also longer and tapered.

Across Australia, the Dingo occupies a wide variety of environments from arid grasslands to wet forests and alpine snowfields. Historically, the Dingo likely occupied most habitats throughout Victoria. Today however, Dingoes only occur in dry and wet forest, sub-alpine woodland, coastal heath in Eastern Victoria and scrub and Mallee woodland in North-Western Victoria. Victorian Dingoes are restricted to landscapes with extensive public land, such as the Big Desert in the Northwest and the forests of Eastern Victoria. These two areas are geographically isolated and ecologically distinct and represent two Victorian Dingo subpopulations:

• A small and isolated North-Western subpopulation; and
• A larger and broadly distributed Eastern subpopulation.

Dingoes are opportunistic carnivores. Mammals form the main part of their diet especially rabbits, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. When native species are scarce they are known to hunt domestic animals and farm livestock. This makes them very unpopular with pastoralists. Failing this, the Dingo will eat reptiles and any food source it can find including insects and birds. Scavenging at night, the Dingo is a solitary hunter but will form larger packs when hunting bigger game. It is thought that the Dingo contributed to the extinction of mainland Thylacines (Tasmanian Tiger) by becoming competition for the available food sources.

Dingoes display a clearly defined territory which is rarely left and often defended against other Dingoes. However, territory is known to be shared when Dingoes form packs for hunting.

Dingoes rarely bark. They tend to howl, particularly at night in an effort to attract pack members or to ward off intruders. Other forms of communication include scent-rubbing, defecating and urinating on objects such as grass tussocks to mark territorial boundaries.

Pure Dingoes will breed once a year between March and June. The gestation period is approximately nine weeks (similar to domestic dogs) with the resultant litter producing usually between four and six pups. Dingoes will rear their young in a hollow log, rock shelter, old rabbit warren or wombat burrow and both parents will be involved. Weaning of the pups occurs at about two months, at which time the pups may be abandoned or can stay with the parents for about a year. Dingo pups are fully grown by seven months of age and adult Dingoes can live for up to ten years.

Most female Dingoes become sexually mature by two years of age while male Dingoes will be sexually mature by the time they are a year old. Only the most dominant members of an established Dingo pack will breed leaving the other members to help with the feeding of the pups.

Their ability to quickly adapt to a wide variety of habitats has seen changes in the ecosystems of which they are part. While they have been instrumental in keeping down the populations of rabbits, feral pigs and other farming pests, there have been continued attempts to eradicate the Dingo because of its threat to the domestic animals.

Today, the main threat to the Dingo comes from their contact with other breed of domestic dog. The push of urban settlement from coastal areas and into outback Australia allows for increased interbreeding between the two. This is likely to lead to the dilution of the Dingo gene pool.

Some Facts:

• Wrists of Dingoes are very flexible and able to rotate. Due to this ability, the paws act like hands, allowing the animal to even turn a door handle. Along with the wrists, the head of the Dingo is extremely agile, turning 180 degrees in each direction.
• According to research, conducted at Sydney’s University of New South Wales, they usually hunt at night, able to travel up to 37 miles per night in search of food.
• The Dingo is likely to be the oldest breed of dog in the world.
• The habit of hiding remains of their food under the ground makes Dingoes quite similar to dogs.