‘Exciting’ sightings at reserve

The green shoots of recovery at North Lakes Reserve are not only being seen at ground level, according to the Mango Hill and North Lakes Environmental Group (MHANLEG).

Dave Norman, from MHANLEG, has reported “great news” for native wildlife after a “very successful” low-level hazard reduction burn.

In recent weeks, a male koala and two females have been seen sparking hopes the 84-hectare reserve has a koala colony again. A young family of kangaroos has also been spotted.

This comes ahead of Saturday’s koala count, by Moreton Bay Regional Council, using invited koala spotters in the Hays Inlet area.

Growth spurt

“It’s exciting to see,” says Dave, “the two female koalas were about 20 metres apart and the male was high in a tree sizing up the territory.

“They say for every koala you see there are two or three you don’t see.

“There used to be a big population of kangaroos in North Lakes. This young family may be passing through taking advantage of the new shoots after the burn.”

It follows news the koala population at the University of the Sunshine Coast site at Petrie has grown 22 per cent each year for three years and council is to buy back parcels of sensitive environmental land.

Off-leash fears

However, there is still concern over dogs being allowed off-leash in North Lakes Reserve.

“Dogs off leash will do damage. It’s not the dog’s fault, it’s the owner’s fault,” says Dave, “if a dog bites a koala, even playfully, it can kill it.”

A request has been sent to Moreton Bay Regional Council for warning signs for dog owners using the reserve and council has acknowledged the request.

There is also growing interest in Dave’s Song for the Koala with it being played in several countries across Europe and BBC Radio Wiltshire doing several interviews with the singer-songwriter.

MHANLEG’s next clean-up at Lake Eden is on Saturday September 5 and 8am and its next Bushcare is on Saturday October 10 at 9.30am.

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