Ten years ago, with my wife Jen, I was finishing up four years of fieldwork in some of Australia’s most remote and spectacular habitats. We had been lucky enough to be investigating the ecology and conservation of Australia’s tropical kangaroos and wallabies, collecting first-of-its kind information on where they each occurred, how big the populations were and why each species lived in certain areas and not others.
But a lot can change in ten years.
While Jen and I have been blessed with kids, health, happiness and more, our northern mammals haven’t been so lucky. Many are disappearing; some at alarming rates. Why? fires, feral cats and climate change are all likely causes.
We have a plan that will give us our best shot at conserving Australia’s northern kangaroos and wallabies.
This winter, we’re packing our kids and our tent into a four-wheel-drive for an epic journey of scientific discovery to find out how the roos are faring ten years down the track.
We’ll repeat all the work we did a decade ago at the same field sites:
- roo counts,
- mapping habitat and measuring its condition,
- and the most glamourous job of all: counting and collecting kangaroo poos to get more information on which species live where.
This time, we will also be packing exciting new technology including remotely-triggered camera traps.
It’s rare for ecologists to have long-term information like this. Our data will tell us what we are up against in the battle to conserve our native kangaroos, wallabies and other native fauna in the same region. We’ll also take every opportunity to talk with as many people as we can about the conservation issues facing northern Australia’s mammals.
“Euan Ritchie’s re-survey of kangaroos and wallabies across northern Australia 10 years on from his foundational PhD survey is fundamentally important research. Nobody but Euan can undertake the work, and I’m profoundly grateful that he’s willing to do it.” — Professor Tim Flannery
Following the outstanding success of my crowdfunded research project on Papua New Guinea’s remote mountain mammals, we are again partnering with Pozible to bring this project to life. With your generous support, we’ll be able to hire a four-wheel-drive and buy the remote camera traps we need to do this important work.
For more information, a video, regular updates and to pledge your support, visit pozible.com/bigroocount.
Please help us conserve Australia’s iconic northern kangaroos and wallabies. Please support The Big Roo Count!
Applied ecology and conservation research group 