Slow Down and Save Our Native Wildlife

Summer is time for adventures and travel, but it’s also when native animals are at their most active and travelling around our wonderful municipality.

As a result, unfortunately it is also the time of year we see an increase in the amount of roadkill seen, particularly on our rural roads.

Council’s Natural Resource Management (NRM) Officer recently responded to a report of a Tasmanian Devil that was struck by a car and died as a result. This report was logged to the Tasmanian Roadkill Register to support the Save the Tasmanian Devil’ Program.

In response, Council installed motion sensor cameras in the area. One of the cameras captured a healthy Tasmanian Devil, as well as another that had been hit by a car. Neither Devil showed signs of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), which is one of the biggest threats to their survival.

While this is positive news in a sad story, it also shows the abundance of biodiversity in the Central Coast area and proves we need to do more to protect our Tassie Devils, as well as all other animals and vegetation.

How can you help in your local area? Slow down: The most effective thing that you can do is to slow down on the road between dusk and dawn, especially during summer when animals are most active. Responsible pet ownership: Keeping dogs on leashes whilst walking through reserves and areas of native vegetation will ensure native animals have the chance to hide without the risk of being hunted and attacked. Ensuring domestic cats are contained and not allowed to roam native bushland areas, especially at night, is vital to the survival of many small native animals such as the threatened Eastern Barred Bandicoot Desexing cats is also important to reduce the risk of increasing the number of feral cats within native areas.

More information can be found on the NRE Invasive Species Website.

Roadkill Reporter App:  The Department of Natural Resources & Environment Tasmania (NRE) support the Tasmanian Devil Roadkill Project, which helps to log sightings of all roadkill – targeting Tasmanian Devils in particular. Installing the Roadkill Reporter App and reporting roadkill is the most effective way of collecting roadkill data.

Find instructions on how to download the app on the NRE Website.

Bonorong Wildlife Rescue: If you find an injured animal, you can contact the Bonorong Wildlife Rescue program on 0447 264 625 (0447 ANIMAL). This program operates 24/7 and they will find a local wildlife carer to come and collect the animal and get it the help it requires locally.

Find more information on the Bonorong Wildlife Rescue website.

As part of Council’s NRM Plan 2023 and the Greening Central Coast Strategy, we are reviewing methods to protect native wildlife in their habitat and when they move between areas. It is also Council’s goal to build awareness in the community regarding how we can protect vegetation and wildlife to keep our municipality biodiversity abundant and thriving.

If you require more information on the resources mentioned, please contact the Council’s Natural Resource Management Officer.