How Many Kangaroos Call Vic Home?

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning will be conducting low level aerial kangaroo surveys across Victoria between September 11 and 30 this year.

Covering the whole of Victoria, excluding heavily forested areas of East Gippsland, the survey will provide important information about the estimated abundance and status of Victoria’s kangaroo populations. The results of the survey will provide a better understanding of the population distribution of Victoria’s three kangaroo species, the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo and Red Kangaroo. Communities may notice a helicopter flying at approximately 200ft above ground level, at a speed of 50 knots, conducting the aerial survey using distance sampling across known habitat. Given the large geographic area to be covered, an aerial survey is the only feasible method of estimating population sizes for kangaroo species in Victoria. To further determine the ratio of Eastern Grey to Western Grey Kangaroos, a ground survey from a vehicle will be conducted in the parts of the state where their distributions overlap. This is the first state-wide kangaroo population survey for Victoria and will assist DELWP ensure kangaroo management activities in Victoria are sustainable. The design of the survey has been developed by DELWP’s Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI). For further information, please contact DELWP via the Customer Service Centre on 131 186 or email biodiversity.regulation@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Image Source - Sinead Friel