Time to Roam Magazine Issue 5 - October/November 2013 | Page 46

|

on the roam my top five

Andrew says technology has made the job or monitoring wildlife easier and more humane. Above: a dingo is fitted with a tracking device.
Below: an infra-red camera for getting a better look at nocturnal animals.

based on years of research including his
PHD, is just one of many works and papers
published. Others titles include “Wildlife
on Farms”, “How Forests Function” and
pieces on bettongs, potoroos and musky ratkangaroos.
It goes without saying, he’s the sort of
bloke you could spend hours yarning with
around a campfire without even having to get
close to discussing politics or religion.
Andrew loves camping and being
outdoors, especially fishing with his nine
year old son.
“We only kill them if we need them for
food. Otherwise we put them back.”
As far as work goes however, camping has
become somewhat obsolete.

46

www.timetoroam.com.au

He says wildlife study is increasingly
becoming a “day job” thanks to infrared digital cameras and other high-tech
equipment.
“When I started out we used to trap
animals, but now that we use cameras, the
animals come and go as they please. It’s
much more ethical, we get much better
information and I’m not sitting in my tent
worrying about the welfare of animals at
night.”
What’s interesting about Andrew is his
fascination for how different parts of the
landscape interact, including how built
and natural environments co-exist. This
fascination is borne out in his nominated Top
5 destinations, several of which he selects

because of the way the way the bush marries
with the urban environment.
“The major focus of my research work has
been in south-eastern mainland Australia
and even if you are travelling down the
Hume Highway, there is a rich and varied
biodiversity from Melbourne all the way to
Sydney.”
He says a highlight of his work over
the past decade was seeing how the bush
recovered from the devastating fires of
2002-2003.
“Many of the places where I work were
burned very badly. At first glance this was
devastating to me. However, in time, all
of these places have recovered to be fully
functioning landscapes once again. While