Spring has sprung at the Ipswich Nature Centre
11 November 2021
Brush-tailed rock wallabies Paxton and Tahli are doing their bit for their vulnerable species after successfully breeding, a first for a pair of brush-tailed rock wallabies at the Ipswich Nature Centre.
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chair Councillor Russell Milligan said spring has well and truly arrived with several babies across many species now calling Ipswich Nature Centre home.
“I am delighted to announce the arrival of several babies at the Ipswich Nature Centre including a brush-tailed rock wallaby joey who has just started popping its face out of its mother’s pouch,” Cr Milligan said.
“The joey can be seen looking around and nibbling on the grass from the safety of its mother’s pouch and we are keeping an eye on mum and bub as we expect the joey to start venturing out of the pouch on its own sometime in the next month.
“It is a wonderful time of the year to visit the centre and see the baby birds, joeys and you can even spot the odd flying fox pup at the moment also.”
Brush-tailed rock wallabies have a long and bushy, dark rufous-brown tail that is bushier towards its tip.
They also have a characteristic white cheek-stripe and a black stripe from its forehead to the back of its head.
The brush-tailed rock wallaby pair arrived from Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary on the central coast of NSW in June, as part of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) Species Management Program and the National Recovery Plan.
Populations of the brush-tailed rock wallaby occur, or did occur, throughout the Great Dividing Range from the border with NSW to Nanango with 17 per cent of the total population occurring in South East Queensland.
Another exciting addition to the Ipswich Nature Centre is two chatty cape barren geese.
These (not-so-little-anymore) goslings arrived when they were one day old back in July.
They can often be seen sharing an enclosure with the brush-tailed rock wallabies or swamp wallabies where their days are spent grazing on the grass after being fed twice daily on mix of grain and crumble, grasses, greens, peas, grated carrot, alfalfa and insects.
When they are old enough, they will be moved to the large pond within the middle of the Ipswich Nature Centre where they will eat grasses and tussocks.
There are many babies also in the free flight aviary and while the nature centre does house three female bush-stone curlews in there, a number of wild bush-stone curlews also live around the grounds.
They are not as easy to see but are most definitely heard with their eerie call.
Two of these wild curlews have recently welcomed twin chicks. The chicks are growing rapidly and have more than doubled in size in the three weeks they have been out of the nest.
There is also a wild population of flying foxes currently residing at the Ipswich Nature Centre and they have also expanded their roost recently with several pups now clinging to their mothers.
The Ipswich Nature Centre is in Queens Park and is open Tuesday to Sunday 9.30am until 4pm.
During school holidays it opens seven days from 9.30am until 4pm and is closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Temporary entrances to the Ipswich Nature Centre and Nerima Gardens have been established on Goleby Avenue after parts of the nature centre and gardens have been closed due to the wild flying fox roost.