Abstract
Simple SummaryKangaroo–human conflict is increasing in the peri-urban communities of the New South Wales (NSW) north coast in Australia. A way to assist in managing this conflict is to improve our understanding on the ecology of kangaroos in the peri-urban environment. We utilized modern Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track adult male kangaroo movements in a peri-urban housing estate at Coffs Harbour, Australia, using both collars and temporary glue-on devices. We also assessed the effectiveness of the glue-on devices, which do not require animal recapture for device retrieval. Kangaroos remained predominately within the residential area and moved over short distances with small movement speeds. Movement activity peaked from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., coinciding with daily residential activities such as driving to work, putting children on the school bus, hanging out the washing, and putting bins on the street. In addition, the temporary glue-on devices were effective in gaining information on spatial and temporal activity on a day-by-day basis, despite having short deployment lengths. The increasing kangaroo occurrence in expanding peri-urban areas can be problematic when kangaroos become aggressive towards people and present a collision risk to motor vehicles. An improved understanding on kangaroo spatial and temporal activity patterns in the peri-urban environment is essential to manage kangaroo–human conflict. In this study, we used GPS telemetry to determine activity patterns of male Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) in a peri-urban community on the north-coast of New South Wales, Australia. Two types of GPS devices were employed; collars and cheaper alternative glue-on units. Kangaroos moved on average 2.39 km a day, with an average movement rate of 1.89 m/min, which was greatest at dawn. The GPS glue-on devices had short deployment lengths of one to 12 days. Despite limitations in attachment time, the glue-on devices were viable in obtaining daily spatial and temporal activity data. Our results aid towards alleviating conflict with kangaroos by providing new insights into kangaroo movements and activity within a peri-urban environment and introduces a potential cheap GPS alternative for obtaining this data relative to more expensive collars.
Highlights
Understanding the movement patterns of mammals in a peri-urban environment is key to developing appropriate management strategies to mitigate human–animal conflict and facilitate co-existence [1]
Heritage Park, a residential estate on the Northern Beaches, exemplifies one such community; the estate consists of large, grassy and well-watered residential blocks and supports a density of 1.2 to 1.5 kangaroos per hectare [5]. These densities can be considered high because their numbers substantially influence the frequency of kangaroo-related incidents, including 40 reports of attacks/serious threats by kangaroos in the last 10 years in the Coffs Harbour Northern Beaches region [5,7]. The increase in both human and kangaroo populations in this area necessitates an improved understanding of kangaroo ecology within the peri-urban matrix
Eastern grey kangaroos were studied in the Heritage Park housing estate located on the north-coast of New South Wales, Australia (30◦ 100 42.8100 S, 153◦ 90 6.7600 E)
Summary
Understanding the movement patterns of mammals in a peri-urban environment is key to developing appropriate management strategies to mitigate human–animal conflict and facilitate co-existence [1]. Heritage Park, a residential estate on the Northern Beaches, exemplifies one such community; the estate consists of large, grassy and well-watered residential blocks and supports a density of 1.2 to 1.5 kangaroos per hectare [5] In this scenario, these densities can be considered high because their numbers substantially influence the frequency of kangaroo-related incidents, including 40 reports of attacks/serious threats by kangaroos in the last 10 years in the Coffs Harbour Northern Beaches region [5,7]. These densities can be considered high because their numbers substantially influence the frequency of kangaroo-related incidents, including 40 reports of attacks/serious threats by kangaroos in the last 10 years in the Coffs Harbour Northern Beaches region [5,7] The increase in both human and kangaroo populations in this area necessitates an improved understanding of kangaroo ecology within the peri-urban matrix
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