Eight captive-bred numbats have been fitted with radio collars and taught to evade predators ahead of their release into the wild next week as part of a State Government program to boost natural populations of the species. Speaking at Perth Zoo today where the numbats were fitted with their collars, Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the marsupials would be released next week at Batalling State Forest near Collie. “These numbats have been well prepared for their new life in the wild as part of a joint project between the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) and Perth Zoo,” Mr Jacob said. “The numbats were bred at Perth Zoo and have received aerial predator awareness training to boost their survival chances and fitted with radio collars…

Hundreds of flatback turtles are gathering at Eighty Mile Beach Marine Park in the Kimberley for their annual nesting activities. Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) officers and Nyangumarta Traditional Owners have been monitoring the area for the last six weeks, recording over 200 nests and 350 ‘false crawls’ in the sample area. False crawls occur when females attempt to nest but return to the water without laying eggs due to disturbance or unsuitable nesting habitat. DPaW community education officer Sara McAllister said Eighty Mile Beach was a significant flatback turtle nesting site. “Flatback turtles only nest in northern Australia and they are endemic to this part of the world. “With the Nyangumarta Traditional Owners, we are currently monitoring turtle tracks on a 6km stretch…