Design, construction and monitoring wallaby gates for Macropus irma

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Shannon Price
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Design, construction and monitoring wallaby gates for Macropus irma Prepared by Mark Waud, Oyster Harbour Catchment Group. 2013 www.ohcg.org.

1 Design, construction and monitoring wallaby gates for Macropus irma Prepared by Mark Waud, Oyster Harbour Catchment Group Background The Oyster Harbour Catchment Group undertook intensive monitoring of Macropus irma (black gloved wallaby/brush tailed wallaby) in 2012/13 over a 12 month period to identify how this species was interacting with fences on private property adjacent to national parks and privately held remnant vegetation. In the Great Southern area of Western Australia, this species has become fragmented into small populations due to it s apparent reluctance move throughout the landscape without dense vegetation cover. This is very different from Macropus fuliginosus (western grey kangaroo) which are often sighted in open areas with little vegetation cover. Macropus irma have been indicated to require approximately 200ha of native vegetation to hold a population and anecdotally will not move further than 200m (often much less) from dense native vegetation (P. Luscombe, pers comm, 2012). The monitoring undertaken was limited in scale and further work is required to determine if different wallaby populations behave in a similar fashion. Initial monitoring indicated that M irma were much more timid than M fuliginosus in their interactions with fences, with the species recorded visually inspecting fences and occasional putting their head through gaps but without much vigour or observable effort. Conversely M fuliginosus were often recorded making impact with fences at some speed, pushing hard to get through or under fences as well as jumping or attempting to jump over them. The intention of the monitoring was to determine if M irma could pass through a typical fence which has been constructed to prevent livestock access to remnant vegetation. With the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group facilitating the construction of some km/ year of fencing to protect native vegetation, a better understanding of M irma habits became increasingly important. IN BRIEF Site Private property bordering Stirling Range National Park 4-5m gap between a 180cm tall kangaroo proof fence This gap historically had a high volume of traffic by both M irma and M fuliginosus Gap was blocked with a section of Ringlock 15/180/30 (15 horizontal wires, 180cm tall, 30cm between vertical wires) Habits Shy physical actions, do not appear to exert significant effort in the attempt to pass through fences 80-90% of M irma recorded did not pass through the new fence Gates Various gate designs were analysed and three designs on other sites were monitored with infra-red cameras A prototype was constructed which could: Be easily installed in an existing fence Withstand the tension of a typical wire fence Allow M irma to pass through Prevent livestock (sheep) from escaping Permit the exclusion of the larger M fuliginosus if required Camera A combination of still and video cameras was found to be best to monitor movement Rapid shot still cameras were useful to pinpoint when M irma came within the vicinity Video cameras were useful to see how M irma behaved with the fence and gate. This interaction could take 1-5mins. Cross referencing the time stamp on the still photos with the video saved the time consuming task of sorting through video clips for M irma gate interactions Not all cameras are suitable for stills or video recording. Low or no delay is preferable between triggers to capture full interaction but creates a high volume of data for sorting

2 Wallaby Gate Design This design is freely available for individuals to replicate for personal use but cannot be patented by any person or entity. The designer and Oyster Harbour Catchment Group retain full rights to this design. 12 December 2012.

Note the volume of tracks showing evidence of volume of traffic from

3 Above: The test site before the installation of the additional fencing to block M fuliginosus access. Infrared cameras on left. Note the volume of tracks showing evidence of volume of traffic from both species. Below: The prototype gate installed in the additional fencing.

The tracks seen passing through the gate are almost exclusively M fulignosus. Below: The prototype gate altered to carry the correct mesh.

4 Above: The prototype gate installed. Note that the mesh used on this was incorrect as it appeared to create too much of a visual barrier for M irma to utilise. The tracks seen passing through the gate are almost exclusively M fulignosus. Below: The prototype gate altered to carry the correct mesh. 80% of M irma recorded at this monitoring point have utilised this gate to pass through the fence. Note the T handles which can be used to loosen the barrier to raise or lower it to encourage easier access or reduce the use by the larger M fuliginosus.

Wild Dog and Kangaroo Exclusion Fencing a case study at Banff Downs, Morven

Wild Dog and Kangaroo Exclusion Fencing a case study at Banff Downs, Morven Why is it good for my business? The fence has been very effective in preventing wild dogs entering Banff Downs The fence has