newy.com.au – Thermal-imaging drones have detected six koalas, including a mother and joey, during surveys aimed at mapping populations across south-west Lake Macquarie.
Lake Macquarie City Council has engaged locally based Nightvision Ecology to survey more than 600ha of prime koala habitat around Awaba, Toronto and Dora Creek. Two other ecological contractors are surveying areas around Mandalong and Wyee.
Sniffer dogs and other detection methods used elsewhere in the local government area have helped identify an estimated population of up to 2000 koalas. Most previous detections were concentrated around Mount Sugarloaf, West Wallsend, Killingworth and Teralba.
Council Manager Environmental Systems Daniel Woods said there had been little firm information about koala populations farther south.
“We know Toronto, Awaba and other areas in the city’s southwest also hold significant numbers of food and habitat trees for koalas, but until now we haven’t had any solid data pointing to presence of koalas or a persistent population in those areas,” Mr Woods said.
The large quadcopter drones carry thermal-imaging cameras, spotlights and zoom lenses capable of capturing details from a distance. They are launched in the evening as the bush cools, making the heat signatures of wildlife easier to detect.
Flights have so far revealed six koalas, as well as gliders, a threatened owl species and a pair of threatened glossy black cockatoos. The mother and joey found during the surveys suggest the area supports an established breeding population rather than only animals passing through.
Nightvision Ecology director Stephen Mahony said the six koalas detected so far were likely to represent only part of the local population.
“Drones have a good detection probability, but you can still miss some and there are likely also more in the areas adjacent to where we are surveying,” he said.
“They also enable access to steep and hard-to-reach parts of a site and rapidly cover large areas.”
Surveys are being conducted over public land and private properties around Mandalong where landowners have granted permission. The drone program is expected to continue in August, with the findings to help the council better understand koala distribution and habitat use across the city.
“This information will provide an important evidence base for future conservation and land-use planning considerations,” Mr Woods said.
