Spies in sky track down wallabies
A spy in the sky is helping identify a pest making giant leaps across Otago.
The Otago Regional Council (ORC) says wallabies are causing serious damage to the region’s environment, while damaging agricultural crops and fences.
‘‘Wallabies are in Otago now, and we need to act fast to stop the spread of this pest,’’ environmental implementation acting manager Libby Caldwell said.
The fightback included the use of helicopters and drones equipped with thermal cameras to pinpoint wallabies to onthe-ground hunters.
Winter was the best time to use those aerial methods to hunt the marsupials, which have no natural predators.
The cold conditions limit on-foot access across the Otago high country, so helicopters and drones fitted with thermal cameras helped pinpoint the whereabouts of the introduced Australian pest.
ORC’s contractors were often searching for one wallaby across several hectares of dense bush, scrub or tussock grassland. Wallabies used their tails on the ground to detect vibration, such as human and dogs, and use their tail to warn others.
Otago was the unwilling home to the Bennett’s wallaby, the largest species of wallaby, which can stand up to 80cm tall and adults can weigh up to 25kg.
A Bennett’s wallaby was primarily a grazer, feeding on a wide variety of indigenous and exotic grasses and herbs.
The economic benefit to the South Island of eradicating them was predicted to be worth more than $23.5 million a year, but if action wasn’t taken the cost to the economy would be around $67m within 10 years. Otago was the closest of those involved in MPI’s national programme to achieving eradication in the short to medium term, but success relies on the public reporting sightings.
‘‘The public are a vital part in our eradication programme, by reporting sightings’’, Caldwell said. ‘‘If we don’t act to eradicate the wallaby population, we face a very real threat to the iconic landscapes that we love here in Otago.’’
Wallaby sightings are currently most common in North Otago, the Maniototo, Hawea and Lindis areas.
When people reported a wallaby sighting to the ORC, or via reportwallabies.nz, a team would be dispatched to the area within 24 hours.