SUMMER2021 BULLETIN72 - Wombat Protection Society

SUMMER 2021   BULLETIN 72

WPSA’s Missionn
                      The Wombat Protection Society of Australia (WPSA)
 is a National Not for Profit Charitable Organisation which was formed to raise money to
  fund projects that provide wombats with immediate protection from harm, enhance the
 quality of life of individuals or groups of wombats and to fund projects which develop or
   maintain suitable habitat and/or sanctuaries for wombats. The Society also funds and
                      supports research projects which meet these criteria.

The WPSA aims to bring together people involved in wombat conservation and protection,
maintain a data base of up-to-date research and information about wombats, and serve as
                              a conduit for further research.

The Society also educates government departments, the public and carers on the care and
   welfare of wombats and assists people act to overcome harm to wombats and their
                                    environments.
 The WPSA has presented two highly successful National Wombat Conferences, the most
                                   recent in 2017.
The WPSA has, since inception, considered mange, caused by the parasitic mite sarcoptes
   scabiei the major health issue impacting wombat welfare. The Society, through its’
members and by encouraging and supporting research and collaboration in the treatment
    and prevention of mange in both free range wombats and wombats in care, has
             successfully progressed attention and action around this issue.

THE GENEROSITY OF WPSA DONORS IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED
   Our bank details are: Westpac BSB 032691 Account 454437 Name: Wombat
                               Protection Society
The Society is grateful to all our members and followers for their continued support
                                    and donations.

For those that can get away on holiday we wish you a safe and
enjoyable time and for those unable to, or just prefer to stay close
to home take pleasure in the little things around you and maybe take
     the chance to put your feet up and take a well-earned rest.
WPSA wish you all a happy and joyous Christmas and New Year
        and look forward to your company in 2022.

Our friends at Goodwill Wine continue to support WPSA and as always, they'll
 donate 50% of the profit from your purchase to us. Grab yourself some delicious
 wine here: http://goodwillwine.com.au/charities/wombat-protection-society-of-australia

The Society has recently obtained a grant through the Victorian Government Community
Support Fund to enable the roll out of ‘wombat gates’ all over Victoria. The gates have been
designed to our specifications and are being manufactured through the Berwick ‘Men’s
Shed’. WPSA see this as a solution to fence damage and a chance to lift the profile of our
wombats. It is hoped if the trial is successful it will be promoted throughout all states where
wombats are located.

The importance of wombats.
                                            Now more than ever digging mammals are
                                            needed, but sadly many may now be lost to large
                                            parts of the Australian landscape. Their digging
                                            provides a critical role for Australian ecosystems
                                            by turning over soil, increasing nutrients from
                                            falling leaves and other plants, fungi and animal
                                            faeces and creating avenues for water absorption.

We need to allow them to move freely through their home territory. Wombats may eat some
pasture grasses, but do little, if any economic damage to pasture, crops, or plantations.
Unfortunately, they are often blamed for the damage done by other browsing animals.

There is a solution, Dr Phil Borchard and CSIRO researchers have found installing
wombat gates, can reduce fence damage and most importantly wombats will use them.
Wombats use the same trails to get to and from their preferred feeding areas. Instead of going
around an obstacle, such as a fence, a determined wombat will try to go through, or under it.
The installation of ‘wombat swing gates’ at known wombat breech points along a fence will
allow them to pass through without causing damage and the fence will continue to exclude
other unwanted animals. Echidnas have also been shown to use wombat gates.
The Wombat Protection Society of Australia will be trialing wombat gates in Victoria in
2022. Initially, gates will be available at no cost to eligible landowners on the condition they
are prepared to give feedback on the success of the gates. This will enable improvements to
be made if necessary. It will be the landowner’s responsibility to install the gates which have
been designed to fit into most existing ring lock /exclusion fencing. The trial has been made
possible with the support of the Victorian Government through a “Community Support Fund”
grant.
If this is something you would like to be part of contact info@wombatprotection.org.au

Learning about their behaviour
It is important to understand wombats so we can deal with the damage they sometimes cause.
Affectionally known as ‘bulldozers of the bush’ they are extremely strong and determined
animals and may sometimes build their burrows under houses, along driveways or along
domestic stock routes. This may cause some inconvenience and conflict between wombats
and people.
Wombats construct burrows to escape the heat and hide from predators. They prefer areas
where it is easy for them to dig. Depending on the location, wombats will use existing
burrows in preference to digging a new one. This is worth remembering as destruction of
existing burrows and/or of local wombats is the primary cause of new burrow digging.

Management Options
Many of the problems caused by wombats can be resolved with some patience and
innovation. Problems may include injuries such as sprains to stock when they inadvertently
step into a burrow or farm machinery being damaged when it crushes a wombat hole.
Wombats can also cause concern when they take up residence under buildings. There are
solutions to all such problems and concerns that have been demonstrated to work.
   •   Marking the position of burrows with a star picket capped for easy recognition. This
       will make it easy for vehicles to avoid crushing burrows.

   •   Old pallets can be used to mark burrows and stop stock from getting too close.

   •   A small post and wire fence is a good deterrent to keep stock away. Alternately,
       electric fencing may be the answer. A recognised design is a two-wire electric fence,
       with the live wires at 15 and 30cm above the ground, or a single standoff wire if an
       existing fence is in place. Care needs to be taken in areas where echidnas live as they
       have been known to get quills caught in electric fencing.

   •    It is possible to exclude wombats from continuing to use a burrow under a building
       by erecting a simple one-way sturdy door that allows the animal to leave, but not to
       return. This can also be used when evicting a wombat from a hole in a dam wall. It
       can be as simple as a sheet of weld mesh wire with a section cut out and an
       overlapping section inserted allowing the wombat to push out, but not push back in.
       This and other solutions can be found www.wombatprotection.org.au/mitigation
       “What to do if you have a wombat under your house”

   •   Wombats do not like digging on top of wire. Normal fence netting staked under gates
       or in areas where wombats are digging rapidly can solves the problem.

Relocating or harming wombats
Bare-nosed wombats are now protected in all States. The trapping and relocation of wombats
is not permitted. Wombats are territorial animals and if relocated, they are likely to be
harassed or even killed by resident wombats or killed on the road or attacked by dogs as they
try to find their way home.
Our wombats have been misunderstood and not appreciated for the important role they play
in the Australian ecology. With ongoing extreme weather conditions like the recent
devastating bushfires and other extreme weather conditions means our wombats are needed
more than ever. Installing a wombat gate on your property could be the answer.
This project is supported through the Victorian Government Community Support Fund.
www.dtf.vic.gov.au/funds-programs-and-policies/community-support-fund

For those who are handy checkout WPSA’s website for DIY wombat gates
www.wombatprotection.org.au/mitigation

WPSA has a new initiative to support and encourage our members that care for
wombats. It’s as simple as letting us know what you are doing to help
wombats. This could be the helping hand you need. Check it out.

                                 $1,000 Grant
 The Wombat Protection Society of Australia is keen to support our members
who are helping wombats. We are going to give a $1,000 a month to be used on
   a project that will help you help wombats. (must be a financial member)

                  To be eligible tell us in 100 words or less.

 WHAT YOU DO FOR WOMBATS AND HOW THIS GRANT WILL HELP
 Include your name, state, email address and any photos that may help us pick
your project. We would like to share your venture on Facebook so others can be
                           inspired by your project.
   The grants will commence in January 2022 so, start sending in your ideas.
     Applications/enquiries can be sent to info@wombatprotection.org.au

     Bare-nosed               Northern-hairy nosed         Southern-hairy nosed

What's been happening at WPSA

The Society’s Annual General Meeting was held via Zoom on December 1st. The Board
continues with Amanda Cox, Shirley Lack, Jenny Mattingley, Marie Wynan and David
Alder. The Operational Report for the meeting was presented to members.

2021 was a very busy year for the Wombat Protection Society of Australia.

Board meetings were held monthly via zoom, the WPSA Mange Team consisting of Marie
Wynan, Jenny Mattingley and Amanda Cox met weekly via zoom, Nation-wide Mange
permit training occurred monthly via zoom and Mange Hub meetings were also held monthly
via zoom.

Midway through the year WPSA received an additional permit for higher dose treatment of
mange from the APVMA as a result of the Mange Team reapplying for this permit and
providing a cache of research documents to the APVMA. The latter is a year only permit so it
has become a major objective to collect and collate treatment outcomes. We were pleased to
have Cheryl Gadja join the team and create data collection material.

Board members contributed to many meetings and research projects supporting or involving
wombats including responding to the Draft Federal Guidelines for the treatment of Native
Animals with Sarcoptic Mange and meeting with the Animal Justice Party to promote the
need for better animal welfare amongst these. Directors in various States had and will
continue to have contact with and input to the individual Departments responsible for native
animals in each State.

Over a thousand queries and questions were answered for members of the public interested
in, or concerned about wombats.These queries came in via email, a dedicated telephone line
and social media.

The WPSA’s Website was overhauled between 2020 and 2021 with Marie Wynan and Jenny
Mattingley taking responsibility for it fully in 2021. They are to be congratulated on their
work. Jenny Mattingley has been managing the Society’s Facebook pages and Quarterly
Bulletins.

Due to losses of WPSA archival material during the 2019-2020 Bushfires in NSW a decision
was made during 2021 to begin to upload all WPSA documents to the “cloud”. Amanda Cox
and Cheryl Gadja reviewed a number of options, and a recommendation and decision was
made to use a Microsoft service during 2021. Six subscriptions are attached to this account
Info@,Treasurer@, Mange@, Data@,Amanda@,Marie@ wombatprotection.org.au with
Amanda, Marie and Jenny looking after Info@ and Mange@ as well as individual accounts,
Shirley looking after Treasurer@ and Cheryl Gadja Data@.

Mange Research in collaboration with Charles Sturt University, received all necessary
permits and will be conducted in 2022.

Interviews with Voice of Australia regarding mange and ABC Victoria radio regarding
Virtual Fencing were undertaken by Amanda and Marie respectively. Marie and her husband
Ray Wynan were also named researchers on a paper published in collaboration with Hayley
Stannard of Charles Sturt University looking at the impact on road death mitigation using
virtual fencing. Cheryl Gadja has also been working on methods for increasing signage to
reduce roadkill.

The Society is assisting a group based in NSW who are trying to raise money to buy land that
can be used to release wombats.

The Board has set up a gifting program of $1,000.00 monthly to members to support their
work with wombats.
                                      …......................

WPSA President Amanda Cox speaks with podcast producers Laura Corrigan and Tom
Melville about the plight of wombats with mange. Take time to listen to the work being done
by mange treaters in the Blue Mountains where mange is rife. Unfortunately, this is not an
isolated area.

Why wombats are rotting to death
Voice of Real Australia
Mange riddled wombats die an agonising death without treatment, but governments don't
consider the parasite a conservation issue. This means that the only thing standing between an
infested wombat and certain death is an army of volunteers administering medication often at
their own expense. On this week's episode of Voice of Real Australia meet the people
fighting for this iconic species' future.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/why-wombats-are-rotting-to-
death/id1529407452?i=1000542213699&fbclid=IwAR1prlEwQGAG66LC39aYcQORGRgd789oQHlG7c
VcJ8NDVqgeGw3mmnwHTxk

WPSA Director Marie Wynan spoke with ABC Central Victoria regarding wombats that
were reported killed on a road near Bendigo.

Wombats get a helping hand from children who band together to warn
motorists to slow down
ABC Central Victoria/ By Kimberley Price and Fiona Parker

Posted Sun 28 Nov 2021 at 10:36am Sunday 28 Nov 2021 at 10:36am

                The children with their handmade signs. (Supplied: Bridget Bentley.)

Central Victorian residents are urging their local council to improve signage and warnings on
a stretch of road where they say too many wombats are ending up as roadkill. North
Harcourt Road residents have banded together to lobby City of Greater Bendigo Council to
install road signs to warn motorists of the wombats and decrease the speed limit.

To find out more
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-28/north-harcourt-road-residents-create-wombat-road-
safety-
signs/100656066?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=mail&utm_medium=content_shar
ed&utm_source=abc_news_web

Stars in their own right
Jarake Wildlife Sanctuary has been busy during 2020-2021 with film crews coming and
going throughout.
Back in 2015 a documentary was made called Secrets of Wild Australia and two episodes
with wombats aired on Animal Planet and Foxtel in 2016. The two episodes Secret Life of
the Wombat “Wombat Wood” and “A Joey’s Journey” were produced at Jarake Sanctuary
and is still today being aired around the world. The producer from this documentary
contacted us and asked if they could yet again come and this time make an IMAX movie
about a wombat called “Rusty”.
September 2019 we were contacted by ABC TV who at the time was making “Australia
Remastered: Wild Australia” asking if they could come and film wombat scenes. Aaron
Pedersen with full crew turned up to film their scenes. The producer later contacted us asking
if they could come to Jarake to film a NETFLIX movie.
A third film company who are making a conservation documentary also contacted us and
have spent some time here to film all animals in the wild, the devastating effects on logging
and bushfires as well as roadkill mitigation (the virtual fencing).

For all crews we had to set up two main rules; number 1; nobody is to drive into or leaving
Jarake during dusk, dawn or night-time. Number 2: All animals are free living and accept you
are in their space. Do not interfere with their daily life and behaviour, if you get bitten - it’s
YOUR fault…and you are not allowed to harm the wombat in self-defence, just put up with
it.

•   The IMAX movie, after 12 months filming is now being edited and narrated and
       looking at being released sometime next year with the premier to be held at the
       IMAX theatre in Melbourne (3D) and then the target audience is the USA and Asia.
       It’s about “Rusty” growing up with his mother and eventually adventuring out on his
       own.

   •   The Netflix movie is still being filmed but is getting very close to the end.

   •   The conservation documentary has another session here at Jarake before the last
       stage is completed.

It has been an experience to see all the equipment, tricks and the process of how it all
comes together. The largest underground ‘wombat set’ ever built was a challenge. One of
the main wombat characters 'Alabama’ watching the five weeks project left his markings of
approval (scats) every morning on the daily additions of the temporarily built ‘set’. The first
night of filming in the ‘set’, the challenge was of course to get the “main character” to go
through. He is a 13-year-old big male who firstly went to investigate one of the camera guys,
walked up to him, climbed into his lap and wanted a scratch, he then went around and yes
straight into the ‘set’. The biggest problem was that he continuously stuck his nose on the
camera lenses and smudged the view.
They asked us before we started what the chances were to film wombats mating and we
said pretty much zero. Well, Ray being the spotter saw it all happening and raced to the
crew to alert them to the scene. Yes, mating was filmed well over half a day!!!!!
Is it true the wombats' glow in the dark with ultraviolet light? Equipment was flown in from
overseas, a set made in the forest and the waiting game began. A lit-up possum with baby
on her back was lighting up the scene, and then good old “Dan” (the wombat) walked into
the scene, paraded around showing all sides of his body. Did he glow? Yes, but with some
help of technical additions.

All this has been very time consuming and created an incredible extra workload to our
everyday schedule, as well as given us even more lack of sleep. However, we feel it is
necessary to expose Australia’s wildlife to the world, in their own environment with all its
beauty, difficulties and hardness they face both day and night.

 Read how Paddi was rescued.
                                         Little Paddi, just over a kilo in size found
                                         himself orphaned just a few days ago. Paddi’s
                                         mum was hit by a big semi-trailer truck on
                                         the Snowy Mountain Highway in NSW. The
                                         truck driver a caring man didn’t hesitate to
                                         stop and check the wombat he had just hit.
                                         He found she had died instantly and when he
                                         turned her over to pull her off the road
                                   much to his surprise, he saw two little legs
                                   protruding from her pouch. It's tragic that
Paddi’s mum died but the actions of his rescuer enabled little Paddi to have
another chance at life. Although Paddi doesn’t have any physical injuries he is
slowly recovering from the trauma of losing his mum. He is fortunate to be in
the hands of an experienced carer who over the coming months will rehabilitate
and eventually release him. This process can take up to 2 years.