In a city where its smallest marsupial is hard to find, Perth's residents are being invited to look more closely at the ground beneath their feet. The World Wide Fund for Nature Australia's eighth Spring Quenda Count asks around 350 volunteers to search nearly 370 sites across parks, gardens and bushland, measuring whether the quenda are holding their ground or slipping away. Their findings place a modest animal within a larger human question: how a city shares its living space with the creatures that were here first, and how it chooses to make room for them.
Volunteers Sought to Count Perth's Elusive Quenda in WWF-WA's Spring Survey
An angry quenda can give a pretty bad bite if it wants to
Mark
Why does a count of a small marsupial need hundreds of volunteers?
Mimi
Because quenda are elusive and a lot of them live on private land. Dr Steven says family participation in the suburbs is critical for understanding that.
Mark
The Kings Park story sounds odd. Where did those quenda come from?
Mimi
Research in 2015 found the seven sampled were closely related, and later analysis traced them to the Beeliar Wetlands System. Ryan Glowacki says that means they were unauthorised introductions.
Luke
Worth noting that's about seven animals sampled. The reporting doesn't say how many live in the park now.
Mimi
Right. Dr Tomlinson says they appear to be thriving, which is his assessment, and the count is meant to test that kind of impression.
Mark
Why does he call them lucky?
Mimi
Official relocations need assessments to get numbers right and then monitoring. These had none of that, so survival was far from assured.
Luke
And the garden fossicking reports are anecdotal. The count is meant to verify them, not confirm them.
Mark
What about Lake Claremont?
Mimi
Friends of Lake Claremont is in discussions with the state department about a release, and council accepted a report recommending a public meeting.
Luke
So nothing is approved. It's talks and a proposed meeting.
El Pulso
- Around 350 volunteers are fanning out across nearly 370 sites, hunting for a shy marsupial that is hard to spot.
- Each sighting is measured against earlier surveys, so every search carries the tension of whether numbers are rising or falling.
- The Kings Park population, traced to seven unauthorised introductions from the Beeliar Wetlands, has survived against the odds and now sets the benchmark for the count.
- Families in suburban gardens are being asked to help track quenda on private land, where much of the story remains unknown.
- Friends of Lake Claremont is negotiating a possible release with the state department, and a public meeting is being proposed to weigh its benefits.
In a city where its smallest marsupial is hard to find, Perth's residents are being invited to look more closely at the ground beneath their feet. The World Wide Fund for Nature Australia's eighth Spring Quenda Count asks around 350 volunteers to search nearly 370 sites across parks, gardens and bushland, measuring whether the quenda are holding their ground or slipping away. Their findings place a modest animal within a larger human question: how a city shares its living space with the creatures that were here first, and how it chooses to make room for them.
Perth's quenda are notoriously difficult to find, and that difficulty is exactly why the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia is calling on residents to help. Its eighth annual Spring Quenda Count is recruiting volunteers to map the health, population and range of the small marsupial across the city's parks, gardens and bushland. Count co-ordinator Dr Rochelle Steven says about 350 people are already working at nearly 370 sites, comparing what they find with earlier surveys to see where the animals are living and how many remain. Steven stresses that families in the suburbs matter, since private land is where much of the picture is still missing.
One of the best-known populations lives in Kings Park, where quenda were first discovered in 2012 and are now monitored by cameras across the park's Banksia woodland. Genetic analysis traced the seven animals sampled there to the Beeliar Wetlands, which means they were introduced without authorisation. University of Adelaide researcher Dr Sean Tomlinson calls them lucky survivors, noting that proper relocation normally demands careful assessment and monitoring, so it is surprising they have not only endured but appear to be thriving. He describes them as creatures that avoid the lawns and favour dense, spiky parrotbush thickets, and he cautions people not to feed them, adding with some feeling that an angry quenda can bite hard.
Elsewhere, a new chapter may be opening. Friends of Lake Claremont is in talks with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions about releasing quenda, and Claremont Council has backed a report recommending a public meeting on the benefits, including restoring the lake's ecology. Anyone wishing to join the count can write to quenda@wwf.org.au.
Perth's quenda are hard to find, and that is part of the reason the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia is asking residents for help. The conservation group is recruiting volunteers for its eighth annual Spring Quenda Count, a survey meant to establish the health, population and range of the small marsupial across the city's parks, gardens and bushland.
The scale of the effort is already considerable. Count co-ordinator Dr Rochelle Steven said about 350 people are taking part at nearly 370 sites. Their task is to find where quenda are living and compare the results with earlier surveys, looking for shifts in where the animals are found and how many there are. Steven stressed that the suburbs matter: she said the participation of families is critical to understanding how quenda are faring on private land.
One of the best-known populations lives in Kings Park, where quenda were first discovered in 2012. They have also been seen wherever there is significant vegetation, including the WA Botanic Garden. Cameras now monitor the animals across the park's 1100 hectares of Banksia woodland, which butts up against gardens in Crawley, Subiaco, West Perth and the Perth CBD.
How they got there is a story of its own. Kings Park bushland manager Ryan Glowacki said an external research program in 2015 found that the seven quenda sampled in the park were closely related. Later analysis showed they came from the Beeliar Wetlands System. In Glowacki's words, that means they must have been unauthorised introductions.
University of Adelaide quenda research supervisor Dr Sean Tomlinson said that makes the park's population lucky survivors. Relocating a native species is an involved process, he explained, requiring in-depth assessments to get the numbers right, followed by scientific monitoring. Given that, he said, it is a real surprise that the Kings Park quenda survived and appear to be thriving.
Tomlinson also described their habits. The animals do not much like the park's lawns and tend to avoid them. They favour dense thickets of parrotbush, probably, he suggested, because it is spiky and horrible, and nothing sensible would go in looking for a quenda except a desperate research scientist. He added a caution for anyone who does meet one: don't feed them, as it is probably not good for the animals, and an angry quenda can give a pretty bad bite, which he said he knows from experience.
He said the annual count would also be useful for verifying reports of quenda fossicking in people's gardens.
Elsewhere, a possible new chapter is being discussed. Friends of Lake Claremont is in talks with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions about releasing quenda. This month Claremont Council accepted a report from the group recommending a public meeting soon to discuss the benefits of a release, including restoring the ecology around the lake.
People who want to join the count can email quenda@wwf.org.au.
Citas Notables
The participation of families in the suburbs is critical to get an insight into the status of quenda on private land.— Dr Rochelle Steven, count co-ordinator
It's a real surprise that the quenda in Kings Park actually survived and appear to be thriving.— Dr Sean Tomlinson, University of Adelaide
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