Turtle report for nature advocate
CAPE York environmentalists are looking forward to spruiking their work with turtles to Australia’s Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box.
Dr Box will be in Cairns today to discuss endangered western cape marine turtles with the Western Cape Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance, an initiative made up of five western cape indigenous ranger groups who are fighting for the animal’s survival.
Dr Box said she was looking forward to meeting members of the WCTTAA.
“It will be wonderful to meet with local indigenous ranger groups who are undertaking highly successful onground work on Western Cape York to protect marine turtle nests,” she said.
Cape York NRM’s Kerri Woodcock, who coordinates the alliance, said it would be a privilege to share the success of the collective with the Threatened Species Commissioner.
“Dr Box helps raise awareness of Australia’s many threatened species and the threats they face, and works collaboratively with a broad range of stakeholders to help protect plant and animal species from extinction,” she said.
“Like her, WCTTAA rangers, representing Apudthama/Northern Peninsula Area, Mapoon, Napranum, Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama, work together to raise awareness of, and protect vulnerable, or endangered, marine turtle species, from localised extinction.
“Through collaboration and co-ordination, these ranger groups have been able to reduce feral pig predation of turtle nests and eggs to an average of 10 per cent of all nests on monitored beaches. This is down from around 90 per cent of nests destroyed by feral pigs in the early 2000s when this threat was first quantified.
“All the turtles which the rangers protect – through feral pig management programs, nest cages which protect nests, eggs and hatchlings from feral pigs, and annual turtle monitoring programs – are on the national threatened species list.”