Feral animals are a major threat to the ecological and economic values of northern Australia. Feral livestock, particularly pigs, as well as cattle, horses and buffalo wreak havoc on the natural environment, displace native species and threaten agricultural production.
In addition Indigenous groups have raised concerns about the damage feral animals inflict on rivers, wetlands and estuaries. Turtles, water lilies, and crocodile eggs are among the traditional resources being impacted. Adding to the complexity of this problem is the desire from Traditional Owners to preserve populations of feral pigs and buffalo as a readily available source of meat for remote communities.
Millions of dollars have been and continue to be invested in feral animal management programs. This research seeks to link such management activities with quantified, long term outcomes for environmental and cultural assets. In doing so it will define indicators of success in feral animal management that are applicable to other parts of northern Australia.
The research is exploring the extent of the damage being caused by feral animals to aquatic ecosystems and the methods to best control them. The researchers are working with Indigenous ranger groups, local communities and agencies to achieve this goal. By ensuring that all key management groups are involved in the project, the researchers aim to foster a shared understanding of the most effective and efficient ways to manage feral animals to deliver joint social, environmental and cultural benefits.
This project builds on and works alongside state and federal funding programs that have been awarded to Indigenous groups Balkanu, Aak Puul Gnangtam and Kalan Enterprises over the past five years to control feral animals in Cape York’s Archer River Basin. With support from Balkanu and funding awarded through the Australian Government’s Biodiversity Fund, Kalan and APN rangers installed pig exclusion fencing around key wetlands and compared the results to unfenced sites.
This NESP project adds value to the continued management of feral pigs by ranger groups by providing a very high standard of scientific support. The NESP team is working closely with APN and Kalan to develop a joint understanding of what works and what doesn’t in both the feral animal management and monitoring and evaluation space. This is providing important information that will help design relevant monitoring methods and reporting frameworks that can be shared with other land managers across northern Australia.
Field research is taking place in the Archer River basin, which flows from the McIlwraith Range to the west coast of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. It focuses on key areas of impact from feral animals.
Indigenous people face many challenges in managing their lands, including rapidly growing threats causing species extinctions and ecosystem losses. In response, many Indigenous groups are looking for ethical ways to design and apply innovative technologies to solve complex environmental management problems—specifically, technology that can work with Indigenous people’s stewardship practices and knowledge.
CSIRO scientists and Cape York Indigenous rangers have turned to technology to boost the survival rates of turtle hatchlings in Australia’s remote far north. Australian Government funding from the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) is supporting the r
A world-first AI-infused cloud-based system that can quickly analyse thousands of aerial photographs of remote beaches in northern Australia to identify evidence of both turtle nests and their predators has been developed by CSIRO, Aak Puul Ngantam (APN) Cape York Indigenous rangers and Microsoft as part of a National Environmental Science Program (NESP) partnership.
The project is being led by Dr Justin Perry from CSIRO. Dr Perry will be supported by researchers from CSIRO, James Cook University and the Queensland Government.
Kalan Enterprises, Aak Puul Ngantam (APN Cape York) and Balkanu are essential project collaborators on this project. They will conduct extensive feral animal management activities in the region for the next two years as part of their funding through the Balkanu Feral Pig Management project, Nest To Ocean, Working On Country and Queensland Land and Sea Management funding.
This project is due for completion in June 2021.
Contact
Justin Perry, CSIRO
[email protected]
Northern Hub wrap-up resources
The NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub has had impact across four broad themes: The importance of rivers and their […]
iAwards merit winners
Our Bininj/Mungguy Healthy Country indicators for Kakadu National Park and Defining metrics of success for feral animal management project teams […]
Teaming up for turtles
Teaming up for turtles Cloud and AI automate and accelerate turtle nest monitoring and predator tracking, allowing Indigenous rangers from […]
Symbols for science engagement
We are delighted to let you know that we’ve publicly released our free collection of 100+ northern Australia symbols for […]
Science Week Video Series 2020
It’s Science Week! We’ll be sharing a few videos about our research in the Gulf of Carpentaria this week. The […]
Research, rangers and re-thinking the roles
Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers Conference 📷 Queensland Dept of Environment and Science Indigenous rangers are central to caring […]
Northern Hub news (March 2020)
Northern Australia March 2020 update. Read about the Hub’s coronavirus pandemic response in our latest eNews, as well as our […]
Northern Hub news (August 2019)
Northern Australia August 2019 update. As the wet season draws nearer, this eNews updates you on the progress of our […]
No one-size-fits-all approach for turtle nest predators
No one-size-fits-all approach to predators that plunder turtle nests. Protecting the nests of marine turtles from raids by pigs, dingoes […]
Working with Indigenous rangers in north Queensland
Working with Indigenous rangers in north Queensland Hub researchers Dr Justin Perry and Dr Norm Duke were invited to join […]
Northern Hub news (November 2018)
Northern Australia November 2018 update. With 2018 drawing to a close, this eNews introduces you to 10 new projects that […]
Engaging young minds in science on Cape York
Aak Puul Ngantam (APN) invited Hub researchers from CSIRO to run scientific activities alongside cultural activities run by senior Traditional Owners at a five-day […]
Northern Hub News (May 2018)
Northern Australia May 2018 update. As we pass the halfway point of the Hub’s lifespan, our eNews reflects on our […]
Managing feral animals on Cape York Peninsula
Large feral animals such as pigs and buffalo cause significant damage to aquatic ecosystems across northern Australia, affecting biodiversity, ecosystem […]
Achieving results in feral animal management
Northern Hub researcher Justin Perry (CSIRO) recently travelled to Canberra with Sandy Whyte (Aak Puul Ngantam APN), representatives of the […]
Maximising research impact for the Qld Govt
Last week Hub researchers met with staff from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and the Queensland […]
Happy new year!
2017 was a busy year for the Hub and 2018 is shaping up the same way! Our suite of 3–4-year […]
Northern Hub News (November 2017)
This edition of our eNews features what we’ve been up to over the dry season.
Feral pigs and wetlands
The wetlands and floodplains of the Archer River support outstanding biodiversity, provide many ecosystem services and have significant Indigenous cultural […]
Archer River field work
Hub researchers from CSIRO, James Cook University and the Queensland government have been in the field working with Indigenous rangers […]
New research underway
We have an exciting suite of three-year projects currently ramping up across northern Australia! We have environmental water projects in […]
What does success look like for feral animal management?
Feral animals have a major impact on the ecological, social and economic values of Australia. They can wreak havoc on […]
