SCRIPT First animal.
For my mammal I’m doing the Leadbeater’s Possum, sometimes called the Fairy Possum. It’s a tiny, nocturnal creature with big eyes and a long tail. In total they measure around 10cm to 15cm long, and weigh 100 – 160g.
Leadbeater’s Possums uses old eucalypt trees with pre-established hollows for their homes. They can be found in small pockets of old growth Mountain Ash forest in Victoria’s Central Highlands from Toolangi, near Kinglake, to Powelltown, near Warburton.
The main reasons for this population decrease are logging of the Mountain Ash forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria for woodchips which are used in paper. As well as this, the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, burned around 45% of The Leadbeater’s Possum’s already little remaining habitat. The fragmentation of habitats by timber harvesting forests have forced small populations of animals to become very isolated from others, these populations are then unable to reach different colonies for breeding, over time this will cause has caused a lack of biodiversity.
The Leadbeater’s Possum is in a very tedious position at the moment. I believe that the steps to save the possum are;
Fundraising
Sales
Fundraising should be started by wildlife organizations such as Australian Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Society and Victorian Zoos are needed to raise money for Leadbeater’s Possums could do this by selling tee shirts and hoodies or calendars with pictures of Leadbeater’s.
Two Action
Through Cross Breeding Programs
Part of the money raised would be used for cross breeding programs between the several of the isolated communities of possums to increase the numbers of possums and the range of biodiversity in each Leadbeater’s colony so that they don’t turn out like Africa’s cheetahs are, with very little biodiversity, any natural disaster could quite easily wipe out the species.
Ban Logging for Woodchips
Another of my recommendations for saving the Leadbeater’s Possum is to ban logging for woodchips in and around Mount Ash in the Central Highlands of Victoria. This ban can be established by protests through the streets of Melbourne and an online petition, demanding that the Victorian government bans the logging of Mount Ash.
Fires
The last step for saving the Leadbeater’s possum is protection from natural disasters like the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Something needs to be done to stop this from happening again and I believe the answer can be found in regular back burning of the Victorian national parks. Back burning would least limit the damage a fire would cause to the possums habitat.
Leadbeater’s Possums uses old eucalypt trees with pre-established hollows for their homes. They can be found in small pockets of old growth Mountain Ash forest in Victoria’s Central Highlands from Toolangi, near Kinglake, to Powelltown, near Warburton.
The main reasons for this population decrease are logging of the Mountain Ash forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria for woodchips which are used in paper. As well as this, the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, burned around 45% of The Leadbeater’s Possum’s already little remaining habitat. The fragmentation of habitats by timber harvesting forests have forced small populations of animals to become very isolated from others, these populations are then unable to reach different colonies for breeding, over time this will cause has caused a lack of biodiversity.
The Leadbeater’s Possum is in a very tedious position at the moment. I believe that the steps to save the possum are;
Fundraising
Sales
Fundraising should be started by wildlife organizations such as Australian Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Society and Victorian Zoos are needed to raise money for Leadbeater’s Possums could do this by selling tee shirts and hoodies or calendars with pictures of Leadbeater’s.
Two Action
Through Cross Breeding Programs
Part of the money raised would be used for cross breeding programs between the several of the isolated communities of possums to increase the numbers of possums and the range of biodiversity in each Leadbeater’s colony so that they don’t turn out like Africa’s cheetahs are, with very little biodiversity, any natural disaster could quite easily wipe out the species.
Ban Logging for Woodchips
Another of my recommendations for saving the Leadbeater’s Possum is to ban logging for woodchips in and around Mount Ash in the Central Highlands of Victoria. This ban can be established by protests through the streets of Melbourne and an online petition, demanding that the Victorian government bans the logging of Mount Ash.
Fires
The last step for saving the Leadbeater’s possum is protection from natural disasters like the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Something needs to be done to stop this from happening again and I believe the answer can be found in regular back burning of the Victorian national parks. Back burning would least limit the damage a fire would cause to the possums habitat.
script second animal.
For my reptile I’m doing the Western Swamp Tortoise. From head to tail Western Swamp Tortoises are 11 – 13cm in length and weigh from 300 – 450g.
They live in the swamps of Swan Valley, Western Australia. These swamps only fill during winter and spring. When the swamps are dry they aestivate, which is the same as hibernation except in the summer months. In summer, they move their homes to small holes in the ground or under deep leaf litter to keep cool.
Western Swamp Tortoises are extremely vulnerable to any changes to their habitat like land clearing for housing and or agriculture, the use of pesticides and fertilizers and fires. Climate change also poses as a threat, as Perth has recently experienced much drier winters. If swamps dry too early, females won’t be able to produce eggs and feral animals such as cats, rats, pigs and foxes can also have more access to tortoises and their eggs.
Western Swamp Tortoises are Australia’s most endangered reptile and more needs to be done to save it from possible extinction. My plan is as follows;
Step One Fundraising
Petition
Wildlife organizations such as Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society and Western Australian Zoos could start a petition to pressure the Western Australian government into giving them a grant money and funding their organizations to help save the tortoises.
Action
Breeding Program
The breeding program at Perth Zoo is a great and is working very well in aiding the species, although the Western Swamp Tortoises need further funding from both the federal and state governments to build and expand on their facilities.
Mapping Swamps
I believe that the government should send out search parties to find and mark western swamp tortoise habitats, the habitats will be marked on a map of swan valley and the surrounding areas.
Stop Building Houses on Habitats
I believe that there should be a bill passed in Western Australian parliament that protects all marked western swamp tortoise habitats from houses and other buildings being developed.
Fences
To counteract the feral animals around swan valley, the national parks rangers could build fences around the tortoise habitats. These fences would need to be big enough for tortoises to get out of but small enough so that feral predators like can’t enter these swamps.
They live in the swamps of Swan Valley, Western Australia. These swamps only fill during winter and spring. When the swamps are dry they aestivate, which is the same as hibernation except in the summer months. In summer, they move their homes to small holes in the ground or under deep leaf litter to keep cool.
Western Swamp Tortoises are extremely vulnerable to any changes to their habitat like land clearing for housing and or agriculture, the use of pesticides and fertilizers and fires. Climate change also poses as a threat, as Perth has recently experienced much drier winters. If swamps dry too early, females won’t be able to produce eggs and feral animals such as cats, rats, pigs and foxes can also have more access to tortoises and their eggs.
Western Swamp Tortoises are Australia’s most endangered reptile and more needs to be done to save it from possible extinction. My plan is as follows;
Step One Fundraising
Petition
Wildlife organizations such as Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society and Western Australian Zoos could start a petition to pressure the Western Australian government into giving them a grant money and funding their organizations to help save the tortoises.
Action
Breeding Program
The breeding program at Perth Zoo is a great and is working very well in aiding the species, although the Western Swamp Tortoises need further funding from both the federal and state governments to build and expand on their facilities.
Mapping Swamps
I believe that the government should send out search parties to find and mark western swamp tortoise habitats, the habitats will be marked on a map of swan valley and the surrounding areas.
Stop Building Houses on Habitats
I believe that there should be a bill passed in Western Australian parliament that protects all marked western swamp tortoise habitats from houses and other buildings being developed.
Fences
To counteract the feral animals around swan valley, the national parks rangers could build fences around the tortoise habitats. These fences would need to be big enough for tortoises to get out of but small enough so that feral predators like can’t enter these swamps.