IT'S MID-MORNING, and there's a group of us standing in a Tasmanian devil bachelorette yard at Aussie Ark, looking expectantly at 13 traps we set the night before. From sight alone it's hard to tell if the cylindrical traps were successful in catching any devils; the traps lie at intervals among the tall grass, still and silent.
Aussie Ark is nestled in the Barrington Tops in New South Wales, roughly 200km north of Sydney. Twice a year, the remote wildlife sanctuary hosts the Australian Geographic Expedition, a hands-on conservation experience where visitors help sanctuary staff with day-to-day operations and learn firsthand about captive breeding and rewilding. There's 10 of us on this trip, and until our arrival yesterday afternoon, no-one had previous experience handling devils. Now we're about to weigh them, administer preventative medicines and give them a once-over for wounds or injuries that might need medical attention. The females in this yard are currently in oestrus, so we also need to examine their pouches to make sure everything looks healthy.
Dean Reid, Aussie Ark's operations manager, enters the yard last and locks the gate. He's joined by sanctuary supervisor Tyler Gralton, who's carrying a toolbox crammed with preventatives.
"We rotate [the treatment] every quarter, because if we give them just the same preventative all year round, the worms and parasites will be able to develop a resistance and then we get a superparasite,” Tyler says.
Dean chooses a nearby trap to demonstrate how to process it. Inside, a devil looks up with bright eyes, bared teeth and a shining wet nose. She begins growling, a guttural sound from deep within her throat.
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Australian Geographic Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Australian Geographic Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DESERT DELIGHT
The Great Victoria Desert, Australia's largest, defies expectations. Visibly rich in biodiversity, it challenges preconceptions about how a desert should look.
A NEW BROOME
New experiences with First Nations people on Country are transforming \"flop-and-drop\" tourism in this tropical getaway.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
For six days last autumn, a ragtag band of walkers came together to tackle the famed Overland Track and explore central Tasmania's spectacular flora, from the tiniest fungus to its towering King Billy pines.
BACK FOR THE FUTURE
Bathurst is one of several regional inland cities holding historic-trades fairs, tapping into growing enthusiasm for a slower, more sustainable way of living and of making things..
HELPING HANDS
These bizarre, shy fish that walk instead of swim face a precarious future in the waters of southern Australia.
COMMEMORATING BROTHERS IN ARMS ON COUNTRY
The military service of two First Nations World War II soldiers, long overlooked by history, is celebrated annually on an outback pilgrimage by an Aussie music legend.
UNEXPECTED PACIFIC PARADISE
Visiting Micronesia's islands and atolls offers an unexpected rare glimpse into remote communities steeped in centuries-old cultural traditions.
THE PATRIOT CONVICTS
A little-known group of political prisoners, transported from Canada to the Australian colonies, had far-reaching effects.
NEW SPACES FOR OCEAN LIFE
In an alliance between Australian marine ecologists and industrial designers, science and art meet to restore ecological function at some of the world's most altered coastal landscapes.
RESCUING AN EMBLEM
Nothing says an Aussie Easter quite like the bilby, but this symbol of the outback is facing a tough struggle for survival.