The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has been able to capture and then release 27 endangered Hastings River mice during a survey of a site in Main Range National Park.
The survey was part of the Gondwana World Heritage Area Bushfire Recovery Project.
Senior Conservation Officer at the Department, Ian Gynther said there were fears for the Hastings River mouse population following the 2019-20 bushfires in the national park.
“In May, the team spent four nights in the national park, setting 250 traps and checking them each morning,” Dr Gynther said.
“I’m pleased to say we captured 27 Hastings River mice, which is a record number for this long-term monitoring site.”
He said each mouse was measured, weighed and ear-tagged to allow for future identification. The mice were then sampled for DNA and released.
“Programs like this are crucial for us to better understand species numbers after a major event like a bushfire and to help manage and conserve these precious species and their habitats,” Dr Gynther said.
He said conservation officers conducted the survey in the Gambubal Section of the Main Range National Park, north-east of Killarney.
“In this section of the park, the population was monitored annually from 2005 to 2016, except for 2011 when it was too wet to get there,” Dr Gynther said.
“Concerns about the conservation status of the Hastings River mouse have heightened, as reflected by the species’ recent change from vulnerable to endangered under Queensland’s legislation, matching its national status.”
He said this had been largely due to the potential impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires across Eastern Australia, which impacted about 70 per cent of the species’ area.
