The effort to ensure our control is kept clear of not only feral cats, foxes and rabbits but bilbies and bettongs too continues. Acting as a ‘control’ the second expansion is an area where we have minimised the number of variables (such as feral and native species) that might be impacting. We can then compare data collected from here to other areas inside and outside the reserve.
Although feral proof, our cheeky bettongs and bilbies have managed to sneak their way in to the second expansion and make themselves at home. Compared to other areas within the reserve their population numbers are low, but we are still working hard to maintain the integrity of our control and remove all reintroduced species from there. Field Officer Anni Walsh has had the task of coordinating the ongoing trapping effort, experimenting with different techniques to determine the most successful.
We are well aware that our bettongs love the smell of peanut butter and will happily wander into a cage trap in the pursuit of peanut butter goodness. But our bilbies are a little more difficult. Earlier in the year our interns utilised burrow traps, targeting areas where there was known bilby activity. In an attempt to utilise the particularly inquisitive nature of our bettongs, a trial one way gate was installed, in the hope that they would use this to remove themselves from the second expansion to other areas of the reserve.
Surprisingly we got lucky, and caught footage with our remote cameras of a bilby investigating this new contraption installed near his home. As can be seen from the photographs below, he almost goes through with it, getting half way into the one way gate before becoming shy and retreating. Night after night, our footage has shown the same bilby returning but unfortunately never following through and crossing over to the other side of the fence. So, the quest to clear all bettongs and bilbies from the second expansion continues!
The bilby checking out the one way gate (circled in red on the left).
Although he got himself halfway in, he unfortunately turned around and didn't go through.
