Residents of Benalla are being asked to help monitor the local platypus population as part of an exciting study that will help to conserve this iconic species. Experts from the Australian Platypus Conservancy recently visited Benalla to check numbers and presented a free information session about platypus conservation and provided practical training for people interested in learning how to spot platypus and record data. If you missed the information session, the following may be of interest:
From the Benalla Ensign, Wednesday, December 9, 2020
'APC biologist Geoff Williams said Benalla had one of the best platypus populations of any regional town in Victoria, with good numbers seen in Lake Benalla and the waterways flowing into it. ...
"However the species is now regarded as near-threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nautre (IUCN) Red List, so keeping track of how populations are faring over time is of key importance," Mr Williams said."
"We already have good informtion about the Benalla population that has been built up over several years.
"This is extremely valuable when it comes to management issues, such as planning te drawdown of water in the lake from time to time to eliminate the invasive aquatic weed Cabomba.
"However we really need more volunteers to keep the monitoring up to scratch.
"Standardised visual scans don't take huge amounts of time - participants only need to spend five minutes at each site.
So we hope people will come along and find out what is involved - it's easy, enjoyable and rewarding"
"However the species is now regarded as near-threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nautre (IUCN) Red List, so keeping track of how populations are faring over time is of key importance," Mr Williams said."
"We already have good informtion about the Benalla population that has been built up over several years.
"This is extremely valuable when it comes to management issues, such as planning te drawdown of water in the lake from time to time to eliminate the invasive aquatic weed Cabomba.
"However we really need more volunteers to keep the monitoring up to scratch.
"Standardised visual scans don't take huge amounts of time - participants only need to spend five minutes at each site.
So we hope people will come along and find out what is involved - it's easy, enjoyable and rewarding"
