Zoological Parks Authority - Parliament of Western Australia - The ...

Zoological Parks Authority ANNUAL REPORT 2012
Agency Performance – Report on Operations
Directorate Reports
Animal Health Services and Research Directorate continued
Following good winter and spring rains in 2011,
63 Western Swamp Tortoises were released into
the wild – 33 at Moore River Nature Reserve
and 30 at Twin Swamps Nature Reserve.
The 33 at Moore River included some animals
released in 2010 that were recaptured and
returned to the Zoo due to drought conditions.
Thirteen Perth Zoo-bred Numbats
were provided to the Australian Wildlife
Conservancy’s Scotia Sanctuary in western
New South Wales for release in December
2011 as part of the Numbat species
recovery program.
A total of 83 Dibblers were provided for release
into Waychinicup National Park near Albany in
2011‐12 including 62 in October 2011 and 21 in
June 2012.
In the reporting period, 88 Dibblers, 36 Western
Swamp Tortoises and a record 19 Numbats
were bred at Perth Zoo making it one of
the most successful breeding seasons for
the program.
Work continued on the rear and breed-forrelease
program for the White-bellied Frog
(Geocrinia alba) as part of efforts to re-establish
these critically endangered frogs in an area
where they have become extinct. Thirty‐one
frogs successfully reared at the Zoo from
wild-collected egg nests were released in the
south-west of the State at a site near Margaret
River in September 2011. This followed the
release in September 2010 of 70 White-bellied
Frogs successfully reared at Perth Zoo. With
heavy predation of egg nests in the wild,
protective rearing of egg nests and tadpoles at
Perth Zoo is aimed at increasing their chances
of reaching adulthood. The number of sites
where these frogs are found in the wild has
declined by about 30 per cent over the past
10 years.
In addition to the successful rearing of wild
collected egg nests, the Zoo successfully
bred White-bellied Frogs for the first time in
2011‐12. This was a significant achievement for
the program.
Perth Zoo also became the first zoo to
successfully breed the vulnerable Sunset Frog
(Spicospina flammocaerulea). In December
2011, 250 late-stage Sunset tadpoles and
31 adult Sunset frogs were released into a peat
swamp near Walpole in the south west of WA.
Most of the adult frogs were reared at Perth Zoo
and all of the tadpoles were bred here. With only
30 known populations of the Sunset Frog in a
tiny corner of the south west, it is hoped the Zoo
reared and bred amphibians will successfully
establish a new population outside the known
distribution area of this species.
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White-bellied frog
The chosen release site provides suitable
habitat and extends the known range of the
species. If they breed successfully in the new
location, this may provide insurance against the
species being wiped out by a local event such
as a large-scale bushfire that could destroy the
frog’s peat swamp habitat.
Seven Orange-bellied Frogs (Geocrinia vitellina)
were successfully reared from egg clutches
collected from the wild. While this species is
closely related to the White-bellied Frog, it is
proving much more difficult to rear and breed.
Perth Zoo and DEC, in partnership with South
West Catchments Council, established the
rear and breed-for-release program for these
threatened frogs to help boost their numbers in
the wild.