Extract from ABC News
Activity trackers give new insights into wombat behaviour. (Supplied: Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation)
In short:
For the first time, researchers have been given an insight into wombat behaviour in burrows, thanks to high-tech activity tracking collars.
This information is critical to understanding that habits of the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat and finding suitable additional habitats for them.
What's next?
Up to 60 wombats will be moved to a conservation area near St George over the next two years.
The animal equivalent of a fitness tracker is helping shed new light on the habits of Queensland's critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombats.
Fifteen marsupials were moved from their natural habitat at Epping State Forest in central Queensland in May to a specially-designed reserve 800 kilometres away in south-west Queensland.
But before they were released at the Powrunna State Forest near St George, the animals were fitted with high-tech collars, which have provided researchers with crucial data about their habits and behaviours.
The activity trackers provide regular data and cycle through "high intensity" monitoring periods to give researchers detailed information. (Supplied: DESI)
"The information about the level of activity [underground] is really interesting because we've never known are they just going down there to sleep or are they interacting?" Jenny Molyneux from the Department of Environment and Science said.
"We have found that even whilst they're in their burrows they're being a little bit active — certainly a lot more active than I was anticipating."
Dr Molyneux said beyond the burrow, data showed some of the translocated wombats were travelling up to 15km in one night.
With activity and location data collected from the collars, she said the technology provided insight that researchers had not been able to capture before.
"Wombats are typically hard to monitor because they live underground … and we can't see what they do because GPS [technology] doesn't work underground," she said.
Back from the brink
The species is recovering from the brink of extinction, with the population dropping to just 35 in the 1980s.
Jenny Molyneux says the collars present "exciting possibilities" for conservation efforts. (Supplied: DESI)
The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation estimated there were about 400 wombats between the central Queensland site and the conservation areas — Powrunna State Forest and Richard Underwood Nature Refuge (RUNR) — near St George.
Another seven wombats were added to the reserve in September, with conservation efforts now working to establish a fourth site.
Up to 60 wombats will be moved to Powrunna over the next two years.
Dr Molyneux said the revival of the population could provide a blueprint to save other critically endangered species.
"It's a bit of a success story of how animals can come back from the brink if they're given the right support and space they need," she said.
"It's mind boggling to think that in another 40 years we could be doubling or tripling our populations."
Dr Molyneux said detailed data of the nocturnal marsupial's movement and socialisation was key to finding suitable sites for future colonies.
"We've seen quite a lot of wombats burrow sharing, which is not something we've noticed in the population at Epping where they came from," she said.
"Understanding those social dynamics and the hierarchy in the system … it's kind of exciting to think about the possibilities of what it [the collar data] can tell us.
"Even something as simple as understanding how much they share space … we've never really seen them to be a social species."
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is more endangered than the giant panda. (Supplied: Brad Leue/Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Dr Molyneux said understanding which environments allowed the wombats to thrive was critical to their conservation.
"Epping obviously has a huge number of wombats in the one area and it really makes them vulnerable if something were to happen to that population, we might lose the entire species," she said.
"By tracking where they're moving in Powrunna it really gives us an insight into the specific areas that they may prefer to live in, which down the track is going to help us refine the sites that we select."
'Making themselves at home'
The Wombat Foundation, which funded all of the high-tech collars, said the technology also helped protect the marsupials.
"It's even more endangered than the giant panda, so these collars help ensure the animals are safe because they are very precious individuals," volunteer director Josey Sharrad said.
"If a wombat isn't moving for instance for a long period of time, we know we need to go and attend to that wombat because there might be something wrong with it."
Several burrows were pre-dug at Powrunna to ensure the translocated wombats could focus their energy on settling in. (Supplied: DESI)
Ms Sharrad said prior to the wombats' arrival at Powrunna State Forest, a number of burrows were pre-dug to give the mammals a "helping hand".
"Already the wombats have dug another 30 — some close to the man-made burrows, while others were further afield," Ms Sharrad said.
"To search for the right size site, the right type of soils, it's a bit sort of Goldilocks, but we're really pleased with how they're doing, how they're making themselves at home."
Ms Sharrad said the special mammals represented tenacity and "a bit of magic".
"They're like the typical Aussie battler, really just battling against all they've had to go through," she said.
"We'd like to see them be the mascot for the Olympics in Brisbane."
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