South West citizen science project for Western ringtail possum

The Threatened Species Recovery Hub is conducting an online survey to find out more about the Western ringtail possum in the region. 

Threatened Species Recovery Hub researcher Rochelle Steven said they would be conducting some citizen science research for the critically endangered species. 

“We’re running an online survey, which has already been run in Albany, I’m rolling out the same experiment in Bunbury,” she said. 

“We’re going to do cross-city comparisons of the backyard mammals between the two cities and the human communities and how they view the species between the two cities. 

“We’re asking people about the types of mammals they see in their backyard and how often and we’re inviting them to participate further by allowing me, the researcher to come to their gardens a few times over summer.

“I’ll come out and look for either the mammals themselves or signs of their presence in the gardens and it helps us to build an understanding about what mammals are living with us in our urban environments.”

Ms Steven said currently not a lot was known about the mammals living within the Bunbury area, with the research project a major opportunity to learn more about the wildlife within the South West community. 

“The Western ringtail possums are really important because they are part of the eco-system and they form part of a much broader system of intertwined species, so we definitely need them to be around with us into the future,” she said.

“When they are living with us in our urban environments they face a whole suite of challenges – pets in our backyards, cars on our roads, all present challenges to this species being able to live with us successfully.” 

The survey will be open until the end of November. 

For more information or to participate visit http://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/projects/citizen-science-for-threatened-species-conservation-and-building-community-support