Wombats released from first remote enclosure

 

 

 

 

Our first release enclosure was set up  for 4 years,  18 months after last release and we kept camera’s running checking every few weeks. Today (2018) here is still a feed, water remanant left as even 2 years later we find release wombats come back. Out of the 12 released two returned. One with snakebite and died and another with a badly damaged pelvis and also died.  The property owners visit and keep a check on things as well.   We learnt alot from this enclosure and these wombats and our second enclosure (in released srories) has changed and improved. Now march 2018 sees us running 2 release enclosures on local properties of 1,000 acres plus. The third is again an improvement on Mark 1 and 2 !

We feel it’s so important for releasing wombats to have the enclosure for a year or more still there after release, in times of drought or stress we find they return, we can at least put in some hay and check them out on camera. Intervening if needed, but just having the enclosure with a wombat gate that wild wombats do not use gives them a safe place.

December 2015 Now 13 Wombats released from the release pen. With camera monitoring and walking the area, and creek flats there is not much wombat activity. Wombats are moving away from area’s within 1km of release pen. We are beside the SW corner of the Blue mountain National park, the syd water catchment and many tens of thousands of privatly owned bushland. So the wombats are dispersing and we feel we can release a few more this summer.

December 2015  chubby and chester both male.

June 14 Jul 14	Flossy Peanut
July 14	Mud
Sep14	Midnight died snake bite Jan2015 returned to burrow
Sep14	Sunshine
Dec14	Dora
Dec14	Sqidgy
Dec14	Ernie
May15	Maddy
Jul15	Missy
Nov15	Chubby
Nov15	Chester

Late summer in 2014 saw the erection of Philip & Lesley’s portable release pen down the ridge line from Rocklily,

6 wombats released to date Mud April 2014, Flossy June 2014, Peanut July 2014 and Sunshine & Midnight Sept 2014.   We have also released Wilber from our macropod pen at the house as it’s got a wombat burrow see his story in what we have in care.

at a property called Grandillia owned by Yvonne & Michael. The release pen is situated on a ridge line and wombats can move to the creek line either side or off the end of the ridge line. There is permanent water in the creek line to the left and south of the release site, even in the recent big drought, as there are numerous springs in the area.

The flats along the creeks were cleared for sheep and cattle which are now long gone, so this provides a great area to release into.

 

 

 

 

 

Situated on top of the ridge in a protected saddle near a dam. There’s more info about how to make one in the carers projects section.

 How do we know what’s happening?

Yvonne and Michael are at their property quite regularly and are really excited to see wombats coming back (we think they were shot out by previous owners). They are constantly looking for new burrows, walking the hillsides, and recording increased activity and new burrows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have a number of wildlife cameras on the release pen and surrounding area. With the nearby dam we are getting a good picture of what’s in the area. We know Flossy at close to 30kg took about 6 hours to dig out, Mud took 3 days and Peanut 4 days all through the same spot, despite filling holes with rocks. We visit the site daily while wombats are in the pen, and every few days after that, and then weekly. We have also released Sunshine (Sunny in NARG’s latest wombat calendar 2015) and midnight in October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are searching the ridge sides for burrows and existing wombats. We are installing cameras for about 4 weeks on each burrow to see who’s living there and also putting a single cydetin mange preventative dose with a flap.