bandicoots

Introduction by candobetter.net editor: This article reflects interviews with Frankston natural scientist, Hans Brunner, who has spent decades of his life trying to save the southern brown bandicoot, as many of those who know Hans are aware. Here the ABC takes up Hans's argument about the $20m promised by the State Government to be spent protecting bandicoot habitat that was threatened by Peninsula Link was never used as promised for a fox-proof fence. "Peninsula Link dutifully spent $20 million of taxpayers' money on the underpass, and handed over $1.6 million to Parks Victoria for the fence. But Parks Victoria never built the fence. At the completion of the freeway in 2013, and with only a single bandicoot hair detected two years prior, Parks Victoria chose to direct the money intended for the fence to bandicoot programs near Cranbourne..." in an area now allocated for a projected housing development. This is totally outrageous by Parks Victoria and by the government with which it is too closely aligned. Surely the current Parks Victoria Board should be sacked. Planning documents from 2011 show wide reserves with predator-proof fencing. But a 2012 revision made them a dotted line — an option if Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt required it. Mr Hunt failed to do so. His dereliction with regard to this unique creature in the world, the southern brown bandicoot, seems to be his support for by Melbourne's [over]development. A Dubai conference recently named Greg Hunt 'the best environment minister in the world' seems a reflection of extreme cynicism or a calculated insult to the Australian public. Good on the ABC for promoting this investigation. Article by Sara Phillips, first published on http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-28/survival-of-rare-melbourne-bandicoots-under-threat/7181580

Photo:
The southern brown bandicoot once thrived in the Melbourne region. Now the Melbourne population is down to the 400 or so inside the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens. (Supplied: Hayley Davis)

Map:
Cranbourne 3977

Wildlife corridors that experts say are crucial to the survival of Melbourne's last remaining population of southern brown bandicoots may not go ahead if documents from the Victorian State Government are any guide.

Revisions of state planning documents for a new housing development near the bandicoots' stronghold in the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens downgraded the wildlife corridors planned for the suburb to a "contingency project".

The Victorian Government's own bandicoot strategy said the corridors were not cost effective.

Development is yet to commence, but bandicoot lovers said the Government has all but written off the species within Melbourne city-limits.

The small brown marsupial is listed as nationally endangered. They were once abundant across Melbourne and they are found scattered throughout Victoria and South Australia in small pockets.

For bandicoot enthusiast Hans Brunner, the threat to the Cranbourne bandicoots is a case of history repeating.

Bandicoots once thrived at The Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve, a patch of bush in the back blocks of Frankston on Melbourne's urban edge, just 10 kilometres from the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens.

Mr Brunner campaigned to save The Pines' bandicoots as urban development, feral foxes and cats took their toll. When help finally came it was too late.

The Pines was split by a freeway in 2010. Federal environment laws aimed at protecting the bandicoot dictated that an underpass must be built for the bandicoots and a predator-proof fence installed around the 220-hectare reserve.

Peninsula Link dutifully spent $20 million of taxpayers' money on the underpass, and handed over $1.6 million to Parks Victoria for the fence.

But Parks Victoria never built the fence.

At the completion of the freeway in 2013, and with only a single bandicoot hair detected two years prior, Parks Victoria chose to direct the money intended for the fence to bandicoot programs near Cranbourne.

Chris Hardman, regional director for Melbourne for Parks Victoria said: "With so many pressures on that small parcel of land, it's really difficult to secure a species. And that's why I think the investment in [the Cranbourne area] will better secure the future of the southern brown bandicoot than we could possibly ever achieve than in such an impacted landscape as The Pines."

Mr Brunner was outraged that $20 million was wasted because of the failure to spend a fraction of that on a fence.

"$20 million of our money has been spent and now they've abandoned the bandicoot plan completely for The Pines and this money's just wasted. Public money's wasted."

But Mr Hardman said the area from the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens to Westernport Bay has a larger population of bandicoots, more space to work with and a fighting chance of securing their long-term survival.

Wildlife corridors were planned to run through the proposed Botanic Ridge housing development, aiming to allow bandicoots in the Gardens behind predator-proof fencing to breed, slip out through special bandicoot gates and spread into nearby suitable areas.

"Linking landscapes is a really important thing to do and that's one of the great opportunities with the Westernport reserves, that we are much easier able to link those landscapes with large parcels of land," Mr Hardman said.

Terry Coates, a bandicoot expert who works at the Cranbourne Gardens, agreed that corridors were key to the species' long-term survival.

"We've been very keen to see those corridors leading away from us out into the surrounding landscape, not to see our population isolated and locked up," he said.

But the corridors favoured by Mr Hardman and Dr Coates are looking increasingly unlikely, meaning the future for this endangered species is far from guaranteed.

Planning documents from 2011 show wide reserves with predator-proof fencing. But a 2012 revision made them a dotted line — an option if Federal Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt required it.

When asked whether the Minister had required the corridors, a spokesperson for the Federal Department of Environment said Mr Hunt had "endorsed the Program of the Victorian Government for Melbourne's urban growth".

These Victorian documents from 2014 included the option of corridors but noted that the corridors were "less cost-effective than alternative conservation measures".

The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning was unable to provide further details on the future for the corridors.

Dr Pia Lentini, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, said governments have a responsibility to protect Australian wildlife.

"They have a mandate to protect these species and make sure they don't go extinct. And in order to do that they need to consider more carefully what's going in Australian cities and towns," she said.

Cities are surprising refuges for endangered Australian species, according to recent research from Dr Lentini.

"If you pick a random point across Australia if it's in a city you'll find about 10 threatened species and if it's outside a city you'll find about three," she said.

"At the moment there seems to be a bit of a perception that cities are a bit of a write-off for threatened species conservation — that populations in cites are too far gone or a too small.

"But our analysis really shows that if we put in a bit of effort we can make a big difference just by focusing on cities."

See new ABC report about this here. The ABC has interviewed Hans Brunner about the problems of bandicoots in Victoria. The interview will be screened on Sunday 22 February 2016 on the 7pm news, we believe. (The schedule changed from this Sunday.) Hans Brunner is well-known to professional ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula, where he has continually championed the rights of bandicoots to safe habitat in the face of ever-increasing obstacles and stone-walling by government. Hans continues to be involved in the defense of preserving a full natural ecology in Frankston.

The inventor of a revolutionary hair identification system, Hans is known nationally as a key expert witness on dingo hair identification in the Azaria Chamberlain appeal case which freed Lindy Chamberlain. Among other cases, Hans is known internationally for his work to identify the nature of hair samples linked to the Orang Pendek, a mysterious upright ape or hominid sighted in Sumatra.

Hans is the author of Hans Brunner and Brian J. Coman, The identification of mammalian hair, 1974 and Hans Brunner and Barbara Triggs,Hair ID : an interactive tool for identifying Australian mammalian hair, 2002.

Pictures in this article were provided to Hans by the ABC.

This article describes the important contribution of bandicoots to tree health and ecology. It raises the much wider costs of bandicoot extinction and tree die-off associated with such extinction.

Bandicoots are a unique marsupial abut the size of a guinea pig. Females have a pouch like kangaroos but their pouch is opening backwards so that the young have to get in and out through the “backdoor”. This is because bandicoots dig in the soil for grubs and, hence, would fill their pouch with soil.

They have a long nose with a highly developed olfactory system. Their long nose is lined with lots of sensitive receptors and neurons in order to detect food buried deep in the soil. They can detect the exact location of a grub 20 cm deep under the soil and pin-point exactly to it when digging for it.They dig very rapidly with their long fore-claws and within seconds they find their meal.

In addition, their conical diggings left behind are of great importance to the environment (Patricia Flemming etal). These diggings increase soil turnover, alter plant community composition and structure, trap rainwater for better water infiltration, capture bio-mater for nutrient cycling, and add to fungal and seed dispersal. The presence of diggings can also prevent tree mortality and tree-die-off while the dispersal of fungal spores will speed up leaf-litter break down and so reduce the fire hazard.

Sadly, bandicoots are extremely vulnerable to the introduced predators such as dogs, foxes and cats as well as the reduction and fragmentation of their habitat. One would think that the extreme usefulness and aesthetic value of these cute animals would be enough to want them to be protected at all cost.

A few days ago wildlife biologist, Hans Brunner, came to see me to ask me to publish the following report on the continuing failure of Victorian government to responsibly protect bandicoots. He also reported his personal experience on a recent visit to the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (accompanied by Gillian Collins, Michelle Thomas, and David Nichols).

He described what I have experienced myself in two past visits to the Department several years ago. What seems to happen is that citizens concerned about wildlife ask for a meeting with those responsible in the Department. A meeting is granted but in the manner of an audience with a dignitary. For years now the people in the department have worked in a high building in the city where the entrances to actual offices are guarded by security guards. This gives the impression that they know that they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing (actively protecting fauna under the Fauna Guarantee act) and fear public anger. Visitors must sign a book and wait under the eye of the guards until more staff come to escort them. Meetings are brief and conducted in barren, isolated offices that do not look as if they have any permanent occupants. There are no cosy couches, no friendly and understanding ears, citizen to citizen, just a distant official taking notes. Criticism is fielded with statements implying that the matter is in more qualified hands than yours. Maybe they will put you on some marginal email list for a while. Numbly, you walk back out through a large foyer where glossy posters give the impression that all is well with our fauna, and public servants sell and distribute glossy pamphlets on the same note. You leave feeling that you have had a conversation with a disapproving brick wall and drive back through the city and back into the areas of bushland you are trying to defend with a deep sensation of wasted energy and disempowerment.

The awful and unnecessary plight of the Southern Brown Bandicoot

After such a visit, Hans Brunner writes:

The Southern Brown Bandicoot scenario is so extremely frustrating and full of contradictions!

1. Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) argues that because there are possibly no more bandicoots in the Pines, where there were hundreds before, that they will not re-introduce them into the Pines anymore. Yet, they introduced the Eastern Barred Bandicoot on at least four occasions into areas where there were none in existence before. What is the difference?

2. Department of Environment and Primary Industries and Parks Victoria accepted the conditions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Donservation Act’s (EPBC) request to install a predator proof fence around the Pines at the completion of the freeway. Yet, they suddenly decided not to do so. Is this honourable ?

3. Department of Environment and Primary Industries and Parks Victoria stated that the Eastern Barred Bandicoots could not be protected by fox control alone and that they had to be enclosed within predator proof fencing. Yet, in one of their recent strategies they recommended that the Southern Brown Bandicoots’ protection will depend on fox control alone and even scrap connective corridors. What has changed?

4. Parks Victoria elaborately explained why dog-walking at the Devilbend Reserve is totally unacceptable form many reasons but they recommend dog walking in the Nature Conservation Reserve in the Pines with prime habitat for the nationally endangered SBB. Hypocritical!

5. Parks Victoria used a 17 page report, with lots of irrelevant and ridiculous arguments to explain why a predator proof fence does not work to keep out foxes. Yet, predator proof fences have recently been constructed for the protection for the EBB’S. So, what is behind this?

6. The number of recent strategies recommended by DEPI for the so-called protection of the Southern Brown Bandicoots are constantly changing, each contradicting the previous one. This is total incompetence.

In contrast, our own people, concerned with the ultimate protection of the Southern Brown Bandicoots have, right from beginning, lobbied without changes to our plan to put the Southern Brown Bandicoots back into the Pines where they belong, within a predator proof fence and to make use of the $ 20.000.000 of underpasses already spent and provided for them. When do Department of Environment and Primary Industry and Parks Victoria finally come to their senses and accept their responsibilities?

[1] The reference to Kafka and to DEPI's castle relates to Franz Kafka's novel of this name. Here is a description, from Wikipedia: "The Castle (German: Das Schloss, later also Das Schloß) is a novel by Franz Kafka. In it a protagonist, known only as K., struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities of a castle who govern the village for unknown reasons. Kafka died before finishing the work, but suggested it would end with K. dying in the village; the castle notifying him on his death bed that his "legal claim to live in the village was not valid, yet, taking certain auxiliary circumstances into account, he was permitted to live and work there". Dark and at times surreal, The Castle is often understood to be about alienation, bureaucracy, the seemingly endless frustrations of man's attempts to stand against the system, and the futile and hopeless pursuit of an unobtainable goal."

For over 200 years Tasmanian wildlife were spared the devastating presence of foxes. A few years ago foxes made it onto the island. Now the effort to stop the irreversible spread of foxes in Tasmania is at a critical stage with many native species at risk of extinction, according to research in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology.

Using DNA detection techniques, University of Canberra ecologists and collaborators mapped the presence of foxes in Tasmania, predicted their spread and developed a model of their likely distribution as a blueprint for fox eradication. The results suggested that swift and decisive action is needed.

Team leader, Stephen Sarre, University of Canberra professor in wildlife genetics, found that foxes are widespread in northern and eastern Tasmania and the model developed by his team forecasts they will spread even further with likely devastating consequences for the island’s wildlife.

‘If we allow them to establish themselves we could see a catastrophic wave of extinction across the island,’ Professor Sarre said.

‘This research shows foxes are on the verge of becoming irreversibly present in Tasmania,’ he said. ‘Their apparent widespread distribution indicates that the eradication effort is at a critical point and that there is no time to lose.’

Professor Sarre and colleagues used forensic DNA tests combined with collections of fox scats to detect and map the distribution of the predator in Tasmania.

Their detective work, in partnership with Tasmania’s Fox Eradication Program, represents one of the largest surveys of its kind worldwide and provides the first systematic examination of the distribution of foxes in the island, following evidence and allegations that indicate a long history of isolated introductions.

According to Professor Sarre, the widespread nature of the predator distribution in Tasmania reveals that targeting only fox activity hotspots for eradication is unlikely to be successful.

‘The recently adopted plan of baiting all highly suitable fox habitats is the right one given the widespread fox distribution that we’ve found.

The Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) in Tasmania is one of the species at risk from the spread of foxes in the island state.
Credit: JJ Harrison under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 licence

‘The present situation could be as serious a threat to the pristine Tasmanian environment as the previous extinction wave was to Australia’s mainland fauna, following the arrival of Europeans and which has so far wiped out more than 20 species.

‘We suggest an increased effort and an even more focused approach to maximise the chances of a successful eradication. Otherwise, Australia stands on the precipice of another major episode of mammalian extinctions.’

The organisations involved in the research include the University of Canberra, Arthur Rylah Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industry, and Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry Parks Water and the Environment collaborating, with and partially funded by, the Invasive Animals CRC.

Source: University of Canberra

Image from cover of Graeme Base, Uno's Garden, Viking, Penguin Australia, 2006

Re: Proposed Urban Growth Boundary changes.

There is a fantastic book by renowned author Graeme Base, that I often read to my children. It’s called ‘Uno’s Garden’. It’s about a guy named Uno, who arrives in the forest one beautiful day, where there are many fascinating and extraordinary animals there to greet him. And one entirely exceptional Snortlepig.

Uno loves the forest so much, he decides to live there. But, in time, a little village grows up around his house. Then a town, then a city….and soon Uno realises that the animals and plants have begun to disappear….
(sounding familiar?)

***

Graeme Base starts his book with this rhyme:

‘The animals go one by one
A hundred plants, then there were none
And all the while the buildings double…
This numbers game adds up to trouble’

So significant is this story, that it featured as the Myer Christmas windows in 2007. If you haven’t already read the book, I urge you to get a copy. It really is easy to read, and makes perfect sense.

On behalf of my children, I would like you to seriously consider the moral of this story when determining the UGB and population expansion.

Sharing our backyard on the periphery of the proposed new South East UGB, are EPBC listed, endangered Southern Brown Bandicoots. To my kids, these are like the ‘Snortlepig’ in the story. They think the Government must be careful to protect them as it’s important we have biodiversity. They really get that. What they don’t get, is that the Government is now planning to shift the boundary of the Urban Growth Corridor encroaching into Green Wedge land further threatening the SBB’s, to make way for more ‘concrete and McMansions’. They are worried that it will never end, and wonder where all the animals and farmers producing our food are going to go. They are worried that when they get ‘old’, their children and grandchildren will suffer for today’s government’s seeming lack of concern for the environment.

What should I tell them?

Submitted by: Catherine Manning [to the Growth Areas Authority]
Friday 17th July, 2009.

Photographs of Southern Brown Bandicoots in our backyard near Clyde.

What kind of incompetent government cannot even keep small creatures like bandicoots from extinction? Wildlife ecologist and forensic animal hair identification expert, Hans Brunner, says politicians and greedy planners have seriously watered down and misinterpreted the meaning of the word 'reserve'. Parks Victoria complain about the lack of money, but spend money on infrastructure for people leaving no money for the protection of plants and animals, or for weeding, predator control and fencing, which should be their first and only priority.

by Hans Brunner

Obvious role of Nature Conservation Reserves

Nature Conservation Reserves are meant to be primarily secured for the protection and enhancement of indigenous plant and animals. These reserves must be strictly only used as a refuge for the plants and animals that have been destroyed everywhere else. Outside these reserves people have taken up over 95% of space available. This includes the many sports grounds, schoolyards, golf courses, botanical gardens, beaches and similar open spaces where people can enjoy open air activities.

Obvious role of Nature Conservation Reserves ignored and exploited for other reasons
Unfortunately, insensitive politicians, greedy planners and most of the selfish public have seriously watered down and misinterpreted the meaning of the word reserve. Why then call them 'reserves'?

It is obvious, when people already occupy 95 % of all the other space that the reserves are there to keep people out from what is clearly reserved for our unique plants and animals.

Offsets do not replace habitat
Whenever Nature Reserves are compromised and mutilated with infra structure, we are even hoodwinked to believe that offsets will replace lost habitat. But offsets are really only as good as criminal money laundering is. They are fake!

Humans do far more damage than the foxes, cats and dogs that get the blame
There is also no argument that in environmental terms, it is not foxes, cats and dogs, but us humans, who are the most serious pest species on earth. So, why are humans always given preference?

Yet humans are always given priority in 'Nature Reserves'
Whenever a master management plan is created for a Nature Reserve, it is always people that get the first consideration. The animals and plants have to suffer the consequences of these unbalanced decisions, which result in ongoing local extinctions, and in serious loss of biodiversity.

Parks Victoria cries poor but spends up big on humans

Parks Victoria is always complaining about the lack of money and we know why. They spend all the money on infra structure to accommodate people and then have no money left for the protection of plants and animals and for weeding, predator control and for fencing, which should be their first and only priority. A Nature Conservation Reserve is very much cheaper and easier to manage when people are mainly kept out of it. It becomes affordable.

...and fails to adequately monitor, mitigate and repair indigenous fauna and flora decline
Why doesn't Parks Victoria make plans to regularly monitor the presence of native plants and animals and to act when there is a decline or possible loss of a species? Have they ever made plans to re-introduce previously lost species?

Incompetent treatment and skewed priorities damage Pines Flora & Fauna Reserve

An area of prime habitat for the Southern Banded Bandicoot

A typical example is the near demolition of the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve. Only a very short time ago this reserve has been doubled in size to 220 ha in order to protect and enhance the nationally endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot. Now it is going to be bisected by a four line freeway taking away a large area of prime habitat for bandicoots. As if this is not damaging enough, further plans are for a cycling and walking track, as well as lots of other walking tracks and a primary visitor node, involving lots of infra structure and parking space, all for the people at the expense of the plants and animals that are supposed to be protected. In the ex-Dara land, where bandicoots were most prevalent, a large area has also been taken over by a school, surrounded by several ha of open space. And this was not the end. To cap it all, a large housing estate has been placed exactly where bandicoots used to roam. DSE admits that because of all this habitat loss and disturbance caused, the Southern Brown Bandicoot may become lost in the Pines, but nothing is done to stop it.

And now the miserable history of the bandicoots.

When the Dara land was occupied by the Dept. of Agriculture and Vegetable Research, hundreds of bandicoots lived in the unused heath land. They were incidentally protected by regular poisoning programs of foxes and rabbits which did damage to the vegetables. In 1970’s, I (Hans Brunner) carried out a bait acceptance trial on bandicoots in the Dara land where I trapped twelve bandicoots. In the 1980’s I collected 18 bandicoots for the La Trobe University within two trap nights. They were still plentiful then.

Brunner indicating bandicoot diggings

Again in the Dara land, in 1997 Sally Kimber studied the bandicoots near whereI had earlier carried out the bait acceptance trial. Sally's supervisor was Peter Brown from Deakin University. I was also involved and inspected the trap lanes with Sally and Peter to examine the trapped bandicoots. In 1999, the Pines population of bandicoots were described again to be the largest on the Peninsula, ( Taylor ).

In 2005, about two years after the Dept. of Agriculture left the Dara land, a number of people including Dr.Terry Coats and I inspected the whole of the Dara land for the presence of bandicoots. No signs of bandicoots were found. The land has been opened to the public by installing gates to allow people with their dogs to roam freely throughout, what should have been a reserve for bandicoots.

Parks Victoria was now in charge and I blame them totally for the loss of these bandicoots. Fox control has stopped and rabbits have increased in numbers, all to the detriment of the bandicoots.

Shortly after Sally's study, her study area was burned for fire reduction without consulting ecologists to assess the possible danger to bandicoots. To rub salt into the wound, another, huge area of bandicoot habitat was also burned just next to it, long before any remaining bandicoots would have been able to have recolonise the previously burned area.

What else could be expected from Parks Victoria?

Really silly plans for a Primary Visitor Node must be stopped to save what is left

And now, the plans are to construct a “ Primary Visitor Node”, again just for the people, in the same Dara land with more visitor tracks that will meander throughout prime bandicoot habitat. Another part will be occupied by a cycle trail. Who knows what else will be added for human use at the expense of natural habitat?

This 'primary visitor node' must never be built anywhere within a reserve. Instead, this money should be spent on fox and rabbit control and on fencing.

Coming back to my opening remarks about the purpose of Nature Conservation Reserves, it is imperative that the whole of the Dara land (half of the total the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve), be locked up and used for the urgent recovery of the nationally endangered bandicoots and all the other iconic native plant and animals that will benefit.

In the absence of people and dogs it will then allow for the unhindered control of foxes and rabbits. The area is already fenced with a type of fence that allowed bandicoots to flourish as they did when this area was managed by the Dept. of Agriculture.

There can be no more excuses! The other half of the Pines should also be used only for very passive recreation such as walking but without dogs!!

The four lane bypass and the cycle trail will always remain a shameful monstrosity which causes enormous damage, not only to the Pines, but the whole region.

Hans Brunner