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Devils, snakes, frogs, spiders and insects

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Ruth Whelan

This morning started with a stunning sunrise. Some of us headed out early with the Save the Devil program. We drove to a grassland site adjacent to the area farmed and met two devils in purpose made traps. The scientists: Jody, Sam, and Maree worked gently with the animals to check if they had been tagged previously, tag them, and collect data that helps them to understand the health of the animals.

At this stage we didn't know which devil it was. Turns out she hadn't been caught before. So we got to see the ladies insert a micro chip, collect a biopsy, and take measurements of her teeth and head. They also collected observations of her pouch, behaviour and whether she had any evidence of Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). Lindt is less than 1 year old and very healthy. Because she hasn't been caught before we were able to name her.

We also saw the team monitor Ocean. Ocean is a boy who is approximately 2 years old, the team found evidence of DFTD and documented the size, location and description of the tumours. He might live for another 8 to 15 months.

For the afternoon I headed out with a group of entomologists and a few biologists. We were looking for frogs, snakes, birds, spiders, beetles and bugs, and moths.

We found heaps of different organisms! We used butterfly nets, ponding nets, our hands and knees, binoculars, and cameras. We collected numerous invertebrates of different identification. Do you know the difference between invertebrates and vertebrates. The invertebrates that the scientists interested in are currently in the freezer, and tomorrow they will be pinned out to look like this:

devils snakes 1

When the insects are pinned like this they are able to be kept for many years. This enables the scientists to refer back to their collection over time. They can compare the creatures from different parts of the state and else where in the country.
Some of our group were also looking for vertebrates. They found frogs, snakes, birds, and evidence of mammals.

This is one of the three species of Preying Mantis found at Stony Head. It is a purple winged preying mantis.

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I am yet to get an identification for this frog, but i think it is an Eastern banjo frog.

devils snakes 3