https://youtu.be/DM_VINHBIS0 gives you the story if you have a few minutes. view on black for best effect.
Jordan and I waiting to find out if the team would be coming to make him part of the research project. Little did he know what was about to happen!
Thank you for the awesome comments and questions on my photos.
He’s so handsome! This is why I recycle, and take my grocery bags to the store, and try to be responsible. We only get one planet for amazing creatures like Jordan. I don’t want to lose any.
@onewing great questions :) he is fully grown, around 8 years old, so he won't grow more. We would never put one on a youngster that is growing, and you had the clues as to why! The collar is on a timed release, it will automatically drop off him in about 5 or 6 months so we won't need to stress him by catching him again thankfully :)
Wow Katrina - such an important project - although poor Jordan's probably not too impressed! I guess the collar has a tracking device - but what else does it record? I'm glad you told us that the collar releases if it does become snagged. Great video too. :)
@robz thanks! it reports his position - so pinging every 10 minutes will tell us how far he goes, how long he spends on the ground, how often he crosses roads. this is overlaid with the studies at the same time watching wild dog activity both with 30 cameras out there, and they are actually collaring some dogs as well.
Then 12 koalas being released from care at FOK will be collared (2 were released with collars this week) and they can observe any differences in movement behaviours between fully wild and recently compromised koalas.
The aim is to begin to form an impression of the impact wild dogs have on koalas as they are presumed to be forced to the ground more often and moving longer distances.
Of course then we also took DNA sample, were able to weigh can condition score him, and he left us some scat in the bag which was scooped up as they can do lots of studies on that as well.
It's great to get that data on a healthy koala as usually we are doing those things on deceased ones!
What a well designed process - it ties in with something Errol and I were discussing a few days ago - we were wondering about the effect of the dry conditions and poor leaf quality of the gums - and if that would mean more time on the ground for koalas. We haven't seen many wild dogs in our area (there is a dog fence to the west of Stanthorpe) but we do have a lot of foxes. We had the council come and set up a baiting program with 12 baits put out and all taken - and then the very next week we caught a fox on our night time camera! And then we read about an area where they successfully removed most of the foxes - only to have the feral cat population blossom!! It's hard to keep motivated....
Anyway - all our best wished to Jordan and his new job - it will be so interesting to get some results. Cheers Rob
@robz oh I hear you on all those points. Every one of these things is impacting on every other one and the solutions become more and more complex because the actual cause is not going to be address. Don't give up tho, that is unbearable to consider! Do all we can while we can!
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Then 12 koalas being released from care at FOK will be collared (2 were released with collars this week) and they can observe any differences in movement behaviours between fully wild and recently compromised koalas.
The aim is to begin to form an impression of the impact wild dogs have on koalas as they are presumed to be forced to the ground more often and moving longer distances.
Of course then we also took DNA sample, were able to weigh can condition score him, and he left us some scat in the bag which was scooped up as they can do lots of studies on that as well.
It's great to get that data on a healthy koala as usually we are doing those things on deceased ones!
Anyway - all our best wished to Jordan and his new job - it will be so interesting to get some results. Cheers Rob