LAST October, the Lake Wendouree Rakali Monitoring Group was formed and sought to bring together citizen scientists to assess the movements of the native water rodent, and protect the population.<\/p>\n
Monitoring coordinator Lissa Ryan said many volunteers are regularly heading to 12 locations around the lake with the aim of seeing rakali and collecting data.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting new people contacting us all the time wanting to participate in the observations independently,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also hold a group watch, and have a core body of people coming back each time. These people are passing on valuable information and educating people about rakali.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really pleased that the message is being taken up by people that they don\u2019t need to be fed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once known as rabe or water-rats, Ms Ryan said rakali activities increase over the next six months, and people in the area of the lake can expect to see them more frequently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got three sites where there are babies out foraging, and they\u2019re so fast,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re tiny compared to the adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cRakali are particularly visible in Fairyland, the swan pond beside Pipers, and opposite the wetlands. They\u2019ll be literally at your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Ryan expects a full 12 months of rakali sighting statistics will identify where they are most busy, the habitat they like, and roughly help with estimations of the population figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we\u2019ll have much more information about what areas they\u2019re thriving in, and what areas don\u2019t attract them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The group has stemmed from the Australian Platypus Conservancy, and director and biologist Geoff Williams said Lake Wendouree is the best place to sight rakali in the country.<\/p>\n
The next group observation session will take place on Saturday, 20 May. If you are interested in volunteering, you can express interest by emailing platypus.apc@westnet.com.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAST October, the Lake Wendouree Rakali Monitoring Group was formed and sought to bring together citizen scientists to assess the movements of the native water rodent, and protect the population. Monitoring coordinator Lissa Ryan said many volunteers are regularly heading to 12 locations around the lake with the aim of seeing rakali and collecting data. […]<\/p>\n