Bushfires in Brisbane Ranges National Park - January 2006
21 January - bushfires start
24 January
25 January
27 January
30 January
6 February
12 February
26 March
19 April
8 July
February 2007
July 2007
November 2007
November 2007
The Brisbane Ranges National Park is well known for its diversity of vegetation and wildflowers which were the feature of the annual Wildflower Show in mid-October 2007. As it is now getting close to 2 years since the bushfires much of the bush vegetation has recovered and the wildflower displays and tours were excellent.There has been some rain in the area to help the new growth but more is needed. The animals are also doing very well but they will benefit from more rain too.
July 2007
The Brisbane Ranges National Park is growing back well 18 months after the 2006 bushfires. Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies and other animals and birds have returned as the bush rejuvenates. The recent rain is making it much easier for the plants to grow even though it has been a little cold.
February 2007
It is now 12 months since the 2006 bushfires. Koalas rescued from last year's fires and released healthy, weeks or months later, are being seen in the area again as it grows back. Bear (right) is looking just great. Our other famous friends - Ingrid and Jamie in the Brisbane Ranges are also doing very well and ALL have been showing some real interest the opposite gender - a great sign!
We had thought Caz and others were just passing visitors to the area but they are back and looking wonderful. We are learning so much that contributes to our knowledge of the Koalas and benefits Koala research. top of page
8 July 2006
It is now 6 months since the bushfires and we are very pleased with the progress of Bear who has now been back in the bush for nearly four months and is doing well. We are keeping a regular check on him. Ingrid and Jamie are also managing very well. They both escaped the fire by picking very high trees which did not burn to the top. Mumma K (who's claws are regrowing now) and other Koalas are still recuperating in care. We have seen other Koalas who have been seen moving around in the research area, but it will still be some time before home ranges are resettled as there is just patchy epicormic growth in the area. top of page
19 April 2006
The bush is growing back and we are regularly checking on the
Koalas who are now living in the greener parts of the park. Bear is
doing very well since his release one month ago. He has travelled
around checking out the whole area we
think. He has now settled back into his normal home range where the
trees are regrowing.
Ingrid and Jamie were unburnt and have remained in
their normal area in the best trees and are looking very well. Caz who
we think was 'moving through' during the fires was rescued,
rehabilitated and released back but has probably gone back to her
normal home range elsewhere. Verna and Baby K were released together
and are doing well. Mumma K (Baby K's mother) is still in care with
Marilyn and is now improving. We are very pleased that she has survived
the horrific burns she received while protecting her baby. She will
remain in care for some time as we are hoping her claws will grow back
and she will recuperate completely. top of page
26 March 2006
It is now two months since the devastating bushfires in
Victoria. A large number of native animals have been lost and some have
been lucky enough to be rescued and cared for. The burnt bush is still
looking empty and sad although new life is on its way.
Today Janine was delighted to find Bear who
has been wandering around the bush checking it all out since his release 12 days ago. During this busy
season it has been a bit difficult to find much time to have a good
look for him until today. He is looking very well and happy. The bush
is starting to grow back and he was enjoying some of the new growth -
particularly after we gave it a spray with water (hot day today).
Tuesday 14 March 2006 was a very special day for us - Bear our
beautiful koala male was released back to the wild and it was a
privilege to be able to be part of this experience! After six weeks of
good food, bandages, vet visits and koala kisses - he is fit, fat and
ready to party. The poor koala girls in his area will be very
surprised. He is now busy checking out his large area.
Things have been emotional in the 'Echidna's burrow' the last
few weeks. Ups and downs in quick succession as we scoured the bush for
survivors after the terrible bushfires of 21 to 27 January 2006.
The good news: Ingrid, Bear, JoFrank, Paty, and Jamie have
definitely survived the fire! Ingrid
chose the best, biggest tree in the bush to shelter in, and has emerged
without burns, smoke inhalation or any other visible signs of injury!
She remains in her home healthy and well. Bear chose a Cherry Ballart
tree to shelter in, and his tree was partly burnt but not badly.
Unfortuately though he had to move, and in moving he burnt his feet and
hands - his feet sustained 2nd degree burns and he could hardly walk.
We found him on 28th Feb and rescued him. He went into the care of
Marilyn at Beremboke Wildlife Shelter (after a
trip to the vet) and is so happy and fat! He loves her, and so do we!
He is almost ready to go back to the bush. JoFrank & Paty have only
been seen once since the fire, and Jamie and Krijn are slightly
injured, but coping allright in the bush - we are watching them.
Kangaroos, echidnas and wallabies have also survived and we
are seeing them a lot. The birds are coping quite well too. We are
seeing the first signs of new growth on the Gum Trees, and soon there
will be food for everyone. It is truly amazing how quickly the bush can
recover from such devastation - we expect to be back visiting the
Brisbane Ranges in a few months!
Our koala research program and knowledge has
developed in a totally surprising way while experiencing a different
side of the wild Koala - by attending vet visits, seeing them up close,
helping with their care and seeing how they cope following the trauma
of bushfire.
The bad news: most of our Koala friends have probably died. We
will never know for sure, as some may have moved. We will watch, and
update you on any that we do find - I have my fingers crossed!
More good news: we have temporarily relocated our Savannah
Walkabout and group tours to the nearby You Yangs Park, and we are
having such a lovely time there meeting new koala friends - Eureka, Rosa, Raini, Smoky and
Pat, Merle, Calvin, Drew and Grace.
Thankyou to so many of you who have sent messages of support.
We have lost a lot but learnt and gained as well - we have made some
new friends and been amazed at the depth of feeling for koalas amongst
you and our past clients. We have set up a secure donation page on our
website - if you want to pass it on, please feel free to do so
http://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/news.html. top of page
12 February 2006
The sad news this week was that we lost Garry
Plant after being very confident that he was doing well. Anne,
the dedicated Vet has carried out a post mortem on him and other Koalas
that have died since the fires so that we can learn as much as possible
about them. So little is really known about Koalas so research is very
important for these beautiful animals.
A lovely female koala 'Verna' is now in Marilyn's care
following rescue 3 weeks after the fire with some nasty burns on her
paws and nose. After such a long time without care we are hoping she
will pull through. She was rescued on Friday and is showing some keen
determination so far.
Bear is looking well and his paws are starting to improve. The
female who Marilyn is calling 'Big Mumma' and her 'adopted' little girl
are also doing well we believe.
We have again found some healthy-looking new koalas moving
around the research area including a new young female we have
called Hope who we think is looking fine. It is promising to find
healthy females. It will be at least some weeks before they settle down
to new home ranges as they investigate the unburnt bush and find the
'best' area for them. Some of our 'friends' may return or may have
found new homes. top of page
6 February 2006
Green is appearing in the Bush! Grass is growing, reeds are carpeting
the billabongs with green, Grass Trees are sending up new leaves and
some of the least burnt gum trees are developing a green haze! It means
life for the Bush - the kangaroos and wallabies will soon have
something to eat, and the koalas will soon, hopefully, have a choice of
trees to browse. Lots of birds are moving around - Superb Blue Wrens
and Scrub Wrens, Willy Wagtails, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrikes,
Kookaburras, Crimson Rosellas and Cockatoos. We've even seen fresh
tracks of wallabies in the black muddy soil.
Ingrid is well, as far as we
can tell, in her trees in the Bush. Garry Plant is looking perfectly
well and still in care, but ready to go back to the Bush. He should be
released within a few days. His home range is mostly burnt, but just to
the south is some good country, and we think he's best to make up his
own mind about where exactly he wants to be.
We have been monitoring the Koalas and the bush each day this
week. A team of volunteers - Anita, Susan, David, Garry, Erin, Bart and
Caz joined Janine to search the area on Saturday. We again found Koalas
who looked fine from a distance. A few new Koalas have been found in
the area who probably moved here to try to avoid the fire. Some have
also moved nearby on to private land.
Bear is amazing us all by calmly
accepting the love and care he is getting from Marilyn. He sat for
hours yesterday in a lounge chair looking like he was waiting for a
beer and cigar. His burnt paws need to be dressed daily and he no
longer needs sedation to do this. He does get too excited if outside
and is eager to climb - a good sign. Garry
Plant is also showing similar behaviour.
We are surprised to find that the female Koalas in care are
still very fiesty (dangerous) while the males seem to be calmer and
easier to handle. They are having marsupial formula 3 times a day and
soon start to enjoy this foreign food as well as their gum leaves.
The young Koala girl whose mum is not well has bonded with
another female in care at Marilyn's and can be seen happily being
piggy-backed. Mum is improving too. We were very sad to lose Santa Barbara this week as her
pre-fire injury deteriorated. If not brought into care, she would have
had a slow and painful end. Euthanasia has been the kindest answer for
the severely burnt koalas, kangaroos, etc.
Erin, our youngest volunteer saw her first echidna yesterday.
Most Australians have not seen some of our native animals close.
The weather has been quite humid and not been so hot since the
fires. Nearly all the trees have dead leaves at the top and there is
very little food for the Koalas however we are already seeing some
green shoots amongst the blackened bush.
See our Koala Research koala pages for updates on our Koala community.
top of page
30 January 2006
The Brisbane Ranges bush fire was controlled by late Friday and the roads were opened. There was a comprehensive search and rescue effort over the
weekend. Some small patches of the bush are still green amongst the
black. We were delighted to find some koalas looking fine .. but so
high in trees that we couldn't check their paws or their eyes and chests for smoke inhalation problems. We will be monitoring them over the next month or more. Bear is now in Marilyn's loving
care after rescue and a late night visit to a wonderful vet on Saturday
night. As with many of the koalas he has burnt pads on all feet.
Ingrid is looking well but has
been smart enough to find the best high tree in the bush with some
green leaves to eat. Paty is also high
in a tree and moving around. JoFrank
was 'rescued' and released into a green patch after being checked on
site. A beautiful new female in the area was rescued with burnt pads. A
young fiesty girl is also in care unharmed because her mother used her
body to protect her. Her mum is not well and will need lots of love and
care.
It will be many weeks before we know the full effects of this
fire. Koalas are not able to outrun the fires, particularly when the
wind keeps changing direction. However they can be fiesty survivors and
sometimes contrary - we will rescue and check out all those who let us.
A huge thank you to Marilyn who is caring for these animals
and Anne. Wildlife Victoria is raising money for medical supplies,
dressings, food etc as these animals will need to be in care for a long
time.
As we left the bush tired on Sunday evening we saw a healthy
echidna "on walkabout" which was a good omen that the bush is already
starting to live again. top of page
am 27 January 2006
Yesterday on tour in the You Yangs we met some new koalas including at least one with a joey. This is a good indication of a healthy population in this area.
The Brisbane Ranges bush fire in now described as "contained" after lots of hard work and some rain overnight. More hot weather is expected so everyone is still on alert. Storms overnight in Victoria were a mixed blessing - the rain was great however the lightning started 2 new spotfires near one of our largest fires in the Grampians - a major tourist spot. The fires have now burnt about 147,500 hectares (364,500 acres) around Victoria.
Last Sunday was the hottest sustained 24-hour period in the 150 years since our records began. A minimum of 26.7 celsius (80 fahrenheit) overnight, a maximum of 42.6c (109F) and an average of 34.5c (94F). At 9am this morning in Melbourne the temperature was 29c (84F) and humid.
We will not be able to get into the Brisbane Ranges to search for wildlife until roads are opened after the fire is completely out. We are working with Wildlife Victoria and planning search and rescue efforts for as soon as possible. Wildlife is being found and rescued by the locals and firefighters in all the fire areas and being cared for by the wonderful experienced carers.
There is a positive sense of community here and a huge number of dedicated volunteers have been working very hard to fight the fires and provide support. top of page
25 January 2006
Today Janine and Rebecca took some fresh gum leaves to Garry Plant and Santa Barbara in their second wildlife shelter. [We evacuated them from Marilyn's shelter as her home is on fire alert]. GP is so healthy he was starting to get fussy about which leaves he wanted to eat! He is also refusing the marsupial milk formula always given to sick animals (even adults) to help build up their weight - which is a good sign (it probably means he doesn't need it). GP was very interested in the Blue Gum leaves I took him - he grabbed at them immediately and starting stripping them. After a good feed he reached towards Janine, nose outstretched, sniffing deeply, and tentatively she moved forward to meet him. For a long moment they touched noses. She never thought this would happen with a wild koala.
Santa Barbara responded quickly to the Blue Gum leaves too, becoming quite active and excited. This is quite amazing, as neither of them would ever have eaten Blue Gum before - it doesn't grow in the Brisbane Ranges where they live!
They are both now housed at another shelter. GP is in an outdoor aviary, most often sitting on a tree branch; and due to Santa Barbara's arm injury she is currently inside the house in a large cage full of gum leaves - so full in fact, it is hard to see her! In the same room are about 6 baby kangaroos at different stages of infancy, all peeking out of pillowcase pouches, and a Tawny Frogmouth, not to mention a few humans all devoted to their care! top of page
24 January 2006
We are in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record in Victoria with some temperatures last week around 40 degrees celsius (about 105 fahrenheit). At the end of our hottest December since records began, we hit 42.9 C (109 F) on New Years Eve. After a long period of drought this has lead to some dangerous bush fires. This includes one which began on Saturday 21 January in the Brisbane Ranges National Park where we visit on tour and where we have a lot of friends including Koalas in our Koala Research program.
Sunday 22 January hit 43 degrees (about 109 fahrenheit) and the 90km/h (56 miles/h) strong north winds fanned the fierce fire through the dry country.
We are very pleased to say that no lives have been lost in this area although some people have lost their homes (including our friend and long time supporter, Chris a ranger of the National Park. Chris has always loved and cared for the Brisbane Ranges and the losses both in the park and personally must be a huge and incomprehensible burden for him and his family to bear. We are all thinking of you Chris.)
About 6500 hectares (16000 acres) have been burnt in this National Park so far (and there are currently at least 3 other major bush fires in Victoria). Tuesday 24 January was cooler and some back-burning was done to try to stop the progress of the fire before higher temperatures on Australia Day - 26 January and the weekend.
Koalas
The fate of our wonderful Koala friends won't be fully known for a few weeks. They cannot run from the fires as well as other animals. Two lucky koalas - Garry Plant and Santa Barbara escaped to an unburnt area, were rescued and are doing well in care. Both are well known to many of your clients. They were taken to Marilyn & Gordon (Wildlife Carers) thanks to the Wildlife Care Network (of which we are members) and Belinda and her guests on Saturday's Savannah Walkabout (Ronald & Janice, Fred & Cheryl and Alison).
Garry is looking very fit and eating well and should be released back into his normal range (part of which may not be burnt) as soon as the fire danger has passed. Santa Barbara is lucky she was found, as she had a nasty abscess on her arm, which left untreated would have killed her. She is now on antibiotics and looking well. Both are getting extra feeds of a marsupial formula, as well as their normal gum leaves, to help build them up (and Janine fed Santa Barbara - a very special experience!) She is expected to be released in a few weeks when her arm has healed.
Search and Rescue
We will be involved in search and rescue work when able to access the area - many roads are currently closed. Unfortunately there will be many other koalas and other wildlife that may be injured or lose their homes because of the fire. Echidna Walkabout has already worked with wildlife rescue teams and we will continue to do so over the next days and weeks. We will try to keep the news updated as many of our clients are very interested and concerned.
Thank you all for all the tremendous support you have given to our tours - if it wasn't for that, Garry Plant and Santa Barbara would not have been saved.
Savannah Walkabout
We have modified our itinerary and are now visiting and meeting some new wild Koalas in another location safely away from the bush fire area. top of page
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