Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts: three case studies from the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season - Allen Press
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Corporate support for threatened species
recovery efforts: three case studies from the
2019-20 Australian bushfire season
Matthew Mo1*, Mike Roache1, Tania Reid1, Damon L. Oliver2,
Linda Broome2, Adam Fawcett3, Katherine Howard4, Piers
Thomas3, Simon Tracey5, Gerry Andersen6 and Rachel Lowry7
1
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Biodiversity and Conservation Division,
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Saving our Species Program, 4 Parramatta Square, 12 Darcy Street, Parramatta, NSW.
2
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Biodiversity and Conservation Division,
South East Branch, 11 Farrer Place, Queanbeyan, NSW.
3
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, National Parks and Wildlife Service,
Northern Inland Branch, 85 Faulkner Street, Armidale, NSW.
4
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, National Parks and Wildlife Service,
Hunter Central Coast Branch, Suite G3477, 117 Bull Street, Newcastle West, NSW.
5
Woolworths Supermarkets, 1 Woolworths Way, Bella Vista, NSW.
6
Foodbank NSW and ACT Limited, 50 Owen Street, Glendenning, NSW.
7
World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, Suite 3.04, Level 3, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton,
Victoria.
*
Corresponding author. Email: matthew.mo@environment.nsw.gov.au
A diverse range of corporations, businesses and organisations play an important role in threatened
species conservation. During the unprecedented bushfire season in Australia in the 2019-20 summer,
ABSTRACT
corporations, businesses and organisations contributed significant financial and in-kind support for the
Saving our Species Program’s threatened species recovery efforts. On the eastern coast, a combination
of food shortages and heat stress events resulted in large numbers of Grey-headed Flying-foxes
Pteropus poliocephalus requiring rescue and rehabilitation. Prolonged drought and intense bushfires
reduced available foraging resources for the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata and
Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus. Corporations donated produce to feed flying-foxes in care
and provide supplementary feeding for wild populations of rock-wallabies and pygmy-possums. Local
businesses and organisations also supplied resources, funding and food storage capacity to support
these conservation actions. The contributions from corporations, businesses and organisations in
these case studies totalled more than $70,000.
Key words: aerial food drops, Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, Grey-headed Flying-fox, Mountain Pygmy-possum,
supplementary feeding, wildlife rehabilitation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2020.031
Introduction
Australia has been in drought for most of the 21st Century impact on wildlife through the onset of injuries and deaths
to date, first with the Millennium Drought from 2001 to (e.g. Russell et al. 2003; Wallis 2013). During the 2019-20
2009 (Heberger 2012), then the current drought that began summer, expert opinion from the University of Sydney
in late 2016. This has had an enormous impact on human (2020) estimated that more than one billion animals died
communities, the economy and natural environment in as a result of the bushfires. However, there are also the
drought-affected areas (van Dijk et al. 2013). Most recently, knock-on effects that surviving animals are then impacted
during the 2019-20 summer, a number of concurrent by the removal of massive tracts of vegetation resulting in
mega-fires across Australia burnt more than 18.7 million significant shortages of natural food (Clarke 2008) and
ha (Boer et al. 2020; Nolan et al. 2020), destroying houses refugia (Hing et al. 2016). In addition, drought conditions
and claiming human lives (SBS News 2020; Taylor 2020). substantially reduced surface water availability in many
places (Bond et al. 2008) and many animals collected by
During summers, bushfires combined with ongoing wildlife carers may still die during ex-situ rehabilitation
drought conditions and heatwaves have an immediate (Wallis 2013; Mo et al. unpubl. data).
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Australian
Zoologist A
Mo et al.
The Saving our Species Program is a New South Wales bats (Fig. 1). In NSW alone, there was a minimum
(NSW) Government-led conservation program that estimate of 1,600 flying-foxes taken into care between
aims to secure threatened animals and plants in the December 2019 and February 2020 (Mo et al. unpubl.
wild for the next 100 years (Brazill-Boast 2018). During data), which represented enormous financial and time
the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, the Saving our burdens for carers.
Species Program formed partnerships with Woolworths
Supermarkets (a nation-wide supermarket chain), To alleviate some of these burdens, Woolworths
Foodbank NSW and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supermarkets provided fruit to flying-fox carers over
(a major food relief non-profit organisation), Zoos a four-week period (Fig. 2, 3). Liaison with carers and
Victoria, WWF-Australia and local businesses. Here, Woolworths Supermarkets was coordinated by NSW
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we report how these partnerships provided invaluable Government staff. This resulted in more than 30 carers
support to wildlife carers and facilitated on-ground from 10 wildlife rehabilitation organisations receiving
wildlife food drops to assist with conservation actions for assistance. This included carers managing juvenile crèche
three threatened species. facilities and soft-release aviaries. The total amount
of donated produce was 5,763 kg (Table 1), worth an
estimated market value of more than $17,000. Following
Case studies
the month-long support, Woolworths Supermarkets
Our three case studies involve three mammals that are provided additional support in the form of gift cards
endemic to eastern Australia. The Brush-tailed Rock- to the value of $7,500, which NSW Government
wallaby Petrogale penicillata and Mountain Pygmy-possum staff assigned to flying-fox carers in NSW based on
Burramys parvus are both terrestrial and confined to the number of flying-foxes in their care at the time.
fragmented colonies (Broome et al. 2018; Eldridge et al. In addition, Woolworths Supermarkets also provided
2018). The Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus, $1,700 in gift cards to flying-fox carers in Victoria.
on the other hand, is arboreal, volant and nomadic but
nevertheless also vulnerable to habitat destruction (Eby
et al. 1999). The state of NSW represents an important
stronghold for each of these species’ national ranges
(Westcott et al. 2015; Eldridge et al. 2018; Hawke et al.
2019).
Grey-headed Flying-fox
The Grey-headed Flying-fox is listed as vulnerable
under both the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016
and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, following evidence
of a 30 percent decline in the national population
between 1989 (Parry-Jones 2000) and 1998 (Eby et
al. 1999). Even before the peak of the bushfires, there
were unquantifiable mass mortalities from a food
shortage from south-eastern Queensland to north-
eastern NSW, confirmed by the consistent observations
Figure 1. A Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus
of malnourished flying-foxes in this range. There
poliocephalus recovering in care feeding on chopped
were also numbers of dead and live orphaned pups apple. Photo, W. Attrill.
found at some camps in the NSW South Coast
region, presumably also from food shortages affecting Table 1. Total donations of fruit and gift cards to flying-
nursing females (Mo et al. unpubl. data). Finally, mass fox carers in New South Wales.
mortalities also occurred from subsequent heat stress
events in parts of NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Regions Quantity of Gift card
fruit donated amounts
Few camps were impacted by bushfires, however we
anticipate that bushfire-related deaths of foraging Far North Coast 1,280 kg $1,000
flying-foxes likely occurred but were impossible to Mid North Coast 100 kg $350
confirm or quantify. Nevertheless, preliminary data New England 120 kg Not required
collected from numerous sources suggested that more
Hunter 1,540 kg $1,400
than 65,000 flying-foxes (including Black Flying-foxes
P. alecto) died in Australia from pup orphaning and heat Central Coast 520 kg $1,150
stress events alone (Mo et al. unpubl. data). Apart from Sydney 1,003 kg $1,450
the exhaustive efforts involved in attending to affected South Coast 1,200 kg $1,950
sites, volunteer flying-fox carers simultaneously faced
Total 5,763 kg $7,500
the challenge of rehabilitating large numbers of injured
B
Australian
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Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts
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Figure 2. A volunteer flying-fox carer picks up a donated Figure 3. Chopped fruit is laid out across a feeding
supply of fruit from her local Woolworths store. Photo, station to ensure the large number of Grey-headed
D. Johnson. Flying-foxes Pteropus poliocephalus concurrently in care
are each able to feed. Photo, J. Maisey.
At the time of writing, flying-fox carers were still preparing Rock-wallaby in NSW were affected by bushfires. Post-fire
rehabilitated adults and orphans for release. However, site inspections of accessible colonies within northern
we were aware of at least 100 rehabilitated Grey-headed NSW in late November 2019 identified animals in poor
Flying-foxes that were released between February and condition with little to no natural forage food available
June 2020. These numbers represent animals returned to within or adjacent to colonies (G. Ballard, pers. comm).
the wild population that would have otherwise perished if In addition, native vegetation in almost all locations were
not for the intervention of rescue and rehabilitation. evidently impacted by drought. This raised the need for
intervention in bushfire and drought-affected colony sites
Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby until natural food resources recovered.
The Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby is listed as endangered
under NSW legislation and vulnerable at the national NSW Government staff undertook supplementary
level. The species has been reduced to fragmented colonies feeding via ground-deployed feeding stations in colonies
along the Great Dividing Range (Eldridge et al. 2018). In accessible by vehicle and landscape-wide aerial food drops
NSW, extant populations now only occur as far south as the in less accessible colonies (Fig. 4). Initial supplementary
Shoalhaven region (Piggott et al. 2018), with the population feeding commenced in December 2019 within the Green
in the Warrumbungle Ranges being the western limit Gully precinct of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.
(Eldridge et al. 2018). Known threats include introduced Staff installed drinking stations and delivered a mixture
predators, competition with introduced herbivores, loss, of sweet potato, macropod pellets and lucerne. Staff
degradation and fragmentation of habitat and the potential deployed remote monitoring cameras at sites accessible
for small, isolated populations to suffer demographic effects from the ground to assess use by resident rock-wallabies
such as inbreeding, and be at heightened risk of stochastic and non-target native animals, as well as invasive species.
events such as bushfires (Bluff et al. 2011; Menkhorst and Staff also monitored the recovery of natural food sources
Hynes 2011; Tuft et al. 2012). during site visits and stopped providing supplementary
food and water once natural food sources had recovered
During the 2019-20 bushfire season, the locations of more sufficiently to support colonies. This work was funded
than 80 percent of all known records of the Brush-tailed by the NSW Government and the University of New
2020
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Mo et al.
A)
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Figure 5. Severely drought-stressed vegetation and a
mostly dried river in Curracabundi National Park. Photo,
J. Stinson.
B)
Figure 6. A recently dead Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby
Petrogale penicillata showing little muscle tone around
the neck, thighs and base of the tail. Photo, K. Howard.
England with some additional resources provided from the
Saving our Species Program.
C)
During January 2020, the need for additional
supplementary feeding across other affected sites was
identified. For instance, visits to colony sites in the
Upper Hunter Region in early January 2020 revealed
severe drought stress in vegetation from grasses to
mature trees and surface water limited to small pools
sparsely scattered along riverbeds (Fig. 5). At one site, up
to three rock-wallaby corpses were found, including one
recently dead individual with clear signs of emaciation
(Fig. 6) while the other corpses were in an advanced
state of deterioration. Woolworths Supermarkets and
Foodbank NSW and ACT donated 14,395 kg of carrot
and sweet potato that were distributed over eight
colony sites (Table 2). This donated produce had an
estimated market value of more than $28,000. Much
of the financial costs of aerial food drops were covered
by WWF-Australia with some funding initially sourced
from the Saving our Species Program. In addition,
local businesses including Fleet Helicopters, based in
Armidale, donated fuel and support vehicles to aid
Figure 4. Quantities of sweet potato and carrot being fieldwork. Greenhill Orchards, based in Arding, and
loaded onto a helicopter (a) and being dropped at Northern Tablelands Local Land Services both provided
remote Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata storage space for donated supplies of carrot and sweet
colonies (b, c). Photos, J. Spencer (a) and J. Rainger (b, c). potato. The Northern Tablelands Local Land Services
D
Australian
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Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts
Table 2. Total amounts of carrot and sweet potato
provided to Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby colonies in New
South Wales from corporate donations.
Sites Quantities
Mann River Nature Reserve 400 kg
Guy Fawkes River National Park 1,310 kg
Oxley Wild Rivers National Park 2,975 kg
Curracabundi National Park 2,440 kg
Watagans National Park 320 kg
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Wollemi National Park 2,400 kg
Yengo National Park 2,000 kg
Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve 2550 kg
Total 14,395 kg
also provided the use of a mobile cool room to keep
donated produce fresh.
At the majority of monitoring sites, camera footage
confirmed that Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies were
accessing supplementary food and water. In addition,
some rock-wallabies were directly observed during food
replenishment and camera retrieval visits, typically waiting
for staff to leave before returning to the feeding stations
(Fig. 7). Numbers varied between colonies depending on
colony size and animals surviving. In contrast, very few
non-target species, primarily Swamp Wallabies Wallabia
bicolor and Common Brush-tailed Possums Trichosurus
vulpecula, were recorded feeding on supplementary food.
There were also some detections of Red-necked Wallabies
Macropus rufogriseus, Common Wombats Vombatus ursinus
and Feral Pigs Sus scrofa. In most cases, supplementary
food was depleted within one week. Unfortunately, the
uptake of food supplied through aerial deployment was
not known. Monitoring results from the ground-deployed Figure 7. A Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata
feeding stations were unlikely to be representative of the feeding on carrots at a ground-deployed feeding station.
uptake of food supplied by aerial deployment. Photo, J. Spencer.
Mountain Pygmy-possum
The Mountain Pygmy-possum is listed as endangered
under both NSW and Commonwealth legislation. It is
found only in alpine and subalpine areas of the Australian
Alps bioregion, first described from fossil evidence in 1896
and only discovered as a living species in 1966, less than
60 years ago (Seebeck 1967). Since then, the Mountain
Pygmy-Possum has suffered some declines particularly
during periods of drought (Department of Environment,
Land, Water and Planning 2016). In NSW, the Mountain
Pygmy-possum is restricted to less than three square km
within the Kosciuszko National Park, which supports less
than 1,000 adult animals (Broome et al. 2013, 2018).
A major component of its diet is the migratory Bogong
Moth Agrotis infusa, which provides an important source
of fat and protein, as well as seeds and fruit from native
plants, particularly the Mountain Plum Pine Podocarpus
lawrencei, that become increasingly important in late Figure 8. Installation of a feeding and drinking station for
summer (Broome 2001; Gibson et al. 2018; Hawke et al. Mountain Pygmy-possums Burramys parvus in Kosciusko
2019). The physiological condition of Mountain Pygmy- National Park. Photo, A. Pike.
2020
Australian
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Mo et al.
possums is critical for survival though hibernation from the first four weeks after the bushfire.
March to September (Gibson et al. 2018).
Remote monitoring cameras confirmed that pygmy-
The Dunns Road fire that started on 4 January 2020 possums were alive after the bushfire and that they were
(Drevikovsky 2020) burnt all of the known Mountain making use of the feeding and drinking stations at all
Pygmy-possum colonies in the northern part of their three colonies. Small-scale trapping surveys found that
geographic range in the Kosciuszko National Park. The animals had increased their body weight by over 40
three burnt northern boulderfield colonies represent percent in just three weeks (Fig. 9).
approximately 30 percent of the total NSW population.
As a result of the almost total loss of vegetation at these
Discussion
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colonies, the lack of available natural food sources posed
an immediate major starvation risk. As part of the Saving Although the three species in our case studies differ
our Species Program, threatened species experts installed considerably in body mass, mobility and diet, the potential
61 feeding stations and 30 drinking stations for pygmy- for a range of partners to assist in their conservation
possums in two boulderfields at each of the three colonies applies to all these and other threatened species. In
(Fig. 8). Woolworths Supermarkets provided four months’ the aftermath of the 2019-20 Australian bushfire
supply of macadamia nuts and walnuts. This constituted season, WWF-Australia and their client, Woolworths
100 kg of product and gift cards to the value of $1,500 for Supermarkets, contacted the Saving our Species Program
further purchases. Food supplementation for the possums to offer assistance. Similarly, local businesses became
was also greatly assisted by technical advice from small involved by offering assistance to the program. Separately,
mammal experts from Zoos Victoria. They also donated the Saving our Species Program directly approached
50 kg of bogong biscuit mix, a specially formulated Foodbank NSW and ACT who confirmed immediate
natural food supplement replicating the nutritional value assistance. Collaboration between Zoos Victoria and
of Bogong Moths, with a market value of around $1,000. the Saving our Species Program resulted from existing
Many NSW Government staff and their volunteers baked information exchange networks. All these collaborations
bogong biscuits that were dispensed into the feeding between the NSW Government and the private and non-
stations each week, which continued until mid-May profit sectors led to the development of the conservation
2020. In addition to supplementary feeding, staff delivered initiatives in our case studies. These interactions provide a
approximately 500 litres of water to drinking stations in valuable precedent for how corporations and organisations
Figure 9. A Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus is inspected for body condition during small-scale trapping
surveys. Photo, A. Pike.
F
Australian
Zoologist 2020
Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts
from various sectors may become involved in threatened shortage of natural food resources.
species conservation in the future.
The total estimated value of support from corporations,
Although government and commercial working businesses and non-profit organisations in these case studies
relationships are often symbolic gestures or sponsorships, exceeded $70,000. They are examples of the significant
the partnerships reported here differed in their focus contributions to threatened species conservation from
on on-ground practical support. These partnerships these sectors during the 2019-20 Australian bushfire
provided much needed food, resources and subsidies season. Other contributions included fundraising
during a state of emergency. Many flying-fox carers campaigns which provide further financial support for
reported financial hardship prior to receiving support. The wildlife carers and on-ground works and local businesses
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donations directly contributed to increased capacity to providing free food and drinks to wildlife carers attending
care for injured animals, reducing the need for euthanasia. emergency situations. In addition, a number of consulting
Thus, support from a diverse range of partners played an companies provided complimentary communication and
important role in conserving this threatened species and expert analysis projects to government organisations
improving the emotional well-being of carers. Similarly, responding to public enquiries relating to bushfire impacts.
this support increased the Saving our Species Program’s Strong relationships between the conservation sector and
capacity to provide supplementary feeding for Brush- business partners can result in significant outcomes for
tailed Rock-wallabies and Mountain Pygmy-possums, threatened species recovery efforts. Since the activities
especially helicopter resources to extend food drops to reported here, other partnership projects within the
areas inaccessible on the ground. These actions allowed Saving our Species Program are being considered.
individuals of both species to survive the critical temporary
Acknowledgements
Data on flying-fox mortalities were gathered from Blatchford, Natalie Foster, Nick Godfrey-Smith, Pauline
many people including Audrey Koosmen, Carla-Maree Dunne, Peggy Eby, Ray Giddins, Raymond Morrow,
Simmons, Chelsea Costello, Chris Dawe, Clinton Sandra Guy, Sara Judge, Sarah Burke, Sarah Curran,
Patterson, David Kirkland, Desley Prophet, Emma Stephen Brend, Tracy Ward and Uday Mangalvedhekar.
McDermott, Geoff Francis, Hannah McCauley, Heather We also thank Deb Ashworth, Dave Kelly, Judd Stinson
Caulfield, Hugh Pitty, Janine Davis, Jason Van Weenen, and Guy Ballard for supporting this paper. Wendy Attrill,
Jo Kelly, Josie Stokes, Judith Hopper, Justin Welbergen, Debbie Johnson, Jacquie Maisey, Alex Pike, James Rainger
Kerryn Parry-Jones, Kylie Coutts-McClelland, Lachlan and Judd Stinson supplied additional photographs. Useful
Prentice, Lawrence Pope, Leah Colefax, Leonie Sweeney, comments from Alison Whealing, Linda Bell, Kath Tuft
Lorraine Oliver, Marina Tretiach, Michael Smith, Nat and one anonymous reviewer improved the paper.
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