Rewilding the Desert: saving threatened species

And so it was the summer trapping program in the Little Desert. After a mild summer and above average rainfall every wetlands, pond and pothole was full with water, and with all this water came an eruption of frogs.Conservation Volunteers Australia’s Program Manager, Ben Holmes, reports: “Over 6,000 Pobblebonk frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii) were captured in the first week and approximately 9,100 across our five weeks of trapping! This is extraordinary considering only a few months ago we only captured 183 Pobblebonk’s over 4 weeks of trapping.” These monitoring results inform us that this desert ecosystem, like many others, operates in Boom- Bust cycles. Ben explains, “When conditions are good animals and plants boom in huge numbers, then as conditions deteriorate (i.e. it gets dry and/or hot) the plant and animals bust. This bust cycle can last for years, where animals in particular occur in very low numbers awaiting those favourable conditions to return.”

The frogs are called the Pobblebonk (or Eastern Banjo Frog) because of their distinctive “bonk” call. This large burrowing frog is primarily insectivorous and can be seen in large numbers after rain feeding and breeding.

With the help of many volunteers, and thousands of volunteer hours, we have achieved a great deal recently:

• We constructed another eight trapping grids with 80 buckets and 400 metres (1/4 mile) of fencing
• Conducted 5 weeks of trapping surveys
• Captured and released 265 animals, including Painted Dragon, Western Pygmy-possum, Inland Snake-eyed Skink, Marbled Gecko and Common Scaly-foot
• Carried out detailed habitat assessments at 8 sites
• Conducted a camera survey trial using 40 borrowed cameras, equating to over 1,500 camera trap nights

Whilst we have achieved these fantastic results, there is still so much more to do! Ben explains, “The camera survey trial was a huge success, and moving forward, will be a critical component of this project to allow us to successfully measure and monitor the larger species, such as goannas and introduced foxes.”  To make this happen we need your support to purchase our own set of cameras. Please consider donating again or sharing our story to help us raise vital funds to continue our monitoring program.

To our amazing supporters and donors, we’d like to say thank you! Without your support we cannot continue this critical program and help conserve Australia’s weird, wonderful and highly threatened native wildlife.

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Australian wildlife is facing an extinction crisis, with 31% of mammals extinct or threatened. Rewilding the Desert is aiming to bring back from the brink our threatened desert wildlife, with community volunteers and expert researchers joining together. An initial BioBlitz will enable us to establish monitoring and research programs to better understand the ecological benefits and impacts of rewilding.  

In spring (September - November in our hemisphere!) the first step of our in-depth BioBlitz has begun! We commenced our fauna monitoring program at the Little Desert Nature Lodge site and the results were excellent:

• We dug in 240 buckets and erected 1,200 metres of drift fences for the pitfall trap lines.
• We spent 4 weeks catching and releasing animals in pitfall, funnel and cage traps.
• During those four weeks 567 animals were captured and released.
• 24 different species were captured, including the delightful Silky mouse and the tenacious Eastern Striped Skink (pictured).
• Detailed habitat assessments were conducted at 24 sites.
• Volunteers have contributed 1,425 hours

Conservation Volunteers Australia Rewilding Program Manager, Ben Holmes reports: ‘We are extremely grateful to everyone who braved the early mornings, late evenings and friendly Wimmera flies to collect this data. This information is vital to helping us better understand the ecosystem before we can progress to the next stage of the project.

Before we can get to the good part: rewilding (or reintroduce) locally extinct native wildlife, we need to conduct more surveys and collect more data. We also need to establish monitoring sites at our other property, the Malleefowl Sanctuary. So we still need your help to spread the word and support our efforts.

A big thank you to all the generous souls who have donated, without your support we cannot continue this critical program and help conserve Australia’s weird, wonderful and highly threatened native wildlife.