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Wimmera
River catchment, Victoria, Australia
At
4 a.m. it is your crew's turn to step out of the farm shed
by the Wimmera River to check on the eel traps. But you're
not after eels this fall evening in May. In the cool mist,
you hear the irregular splashing of something in the long
sleeve-net. Dr. Melody Serena is already clomping out mid-stream
in her waders. Your first platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus),
a young male perhaps a year-and-a-half old, is wriggling in
the net. Sheaths still cover the spurs on his hind feet, which
later in life may serve him as venomous weapons in territorial
battles with other males. After his delicate extrication from
the net, you get a good look at him, one of only three species
of egg-laying mammal in the world.
A
platypus must really be seen to be believed. About 45 centimeters
long and the weight of a house cat, he's smaller than you
thought he'd be. The wet brown fur is dense; the incongruous
duckbill more flexible, his beaver-tail less pliable than
you expected. The tail's stiffness is a good sign that he's
storing a lot of fat. He's in great condition, thanks to the
plentiful yabbies (crayfish), snails, worms, insect larvae,
and other invertebrates in the upper reaches of this river
that you sampled and sorted through this past afternoon. You
note sex, age, and condition.
For
his brethren downstream, life is tougher. This is prime farm
country for growing cereals, wine grapes, beef cattle, and
sheep. But using the Wimmera for irrigation reduces water
flow downstream and means the river is salty and could be
loaded as well with toxic agricultural runoff and eroded sediment-all
bad news for platypuses and their prey. Scientists and conservationists
fear that, as a result of farm practices over the last couple
of decades, platypus populations have plummeted or even disappeared
along some sections of the river. But no one knows for sure
because platypuses are so nocturnal and retiring.
The
reason you're standing knee-deep in this river in the wee
hours of the morning is to help Serena find out where and
how many platypuses there are, what they need to survive,
and what these predators can tell us about the health of the
river. You'll be in good hands. With a doctorate from the
University of Colorado, American-born Serena coordinates scientific
programs for the Australian Platypus Conservancy, where she
has already made a name for herself as an innovative and effective
researcher. In Western Australia, she laid the groundwork
for reintroducing the quoll, a carnivorous marsupial, and
in 1995 was winner of the Avon Spirit of Achievement Award
for her conservation work. She is joined in the field by Geoff
Williams, one of the founders of the Australian Platypus Conservancy
responsible for developing breeding programs for several endangered
marsupials.
Serena's
and your efforts have support from many local landowners who
are members of the voluntary Landcare movement and are committed
to improving the river habitat through controlling weeds,
pests, erosion, and salinization, improving pastures, and
planting 775,000 trees. It's an ambitious project, but a platypus
comeback is in everyone's interest, for it signals that the
river has recovered. You'll meet some of these farmers over
barbeque one night.
For
now, Serena finishes with the youngster in hand. She injects
a rice-grain-sized transponder tag under his skin for future
identification, takes a blood sample (to determine relatedness
to any neighbors), swabs his cheek pouches (to determine what
he's been eating), and takes a closer look at his heel spurs
to determine his age. In the meantime, you help gather and
load up the nets and watch as Serena sets him in the water.
With a startling double splash of his tail, he dives and is
gone in an instant.
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1 9 9 9 and 2 0 0 0 . T E A M S
• III: Sep 20-28 • IV: Nov 1-9 • Teams for
2000, call for details • Max team size: 8
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M E M B E R S ' . S H A R E . O F . C O S T S
US $1,295 • £795 • Aus$1,845 • Yen ¥152,000
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R E N D E Z V O U S . S I T E
Melbourne International Airport, Victoria, Australia
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F I E L D . C O N D I T I O N S
You're ready for breakfast back at the sheepshearers' quarters
on a sheep station, with simple double rooms, a separate shower
block (limited hot water), and a dining room/kitchen, where
you'll share in cooking BBQs, casseroles, and so on.
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programs