Predator Awareness Training Enhances Survival of Western Ringtail Possums
Western ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus occidentalis), a critically endangered arboreal marsupial, were provided with predator awareness training to evaluate their ability to learn and improve survival after release into the wild.
Training Procedure
Fifteen of 29 captive-raised possums participated in three sessions where they encountered a taxidermic fox (Vulpes vulpes) and fox urine inside an enclosure. Loud noises were produced to frighten the possums. The third session included a fox mounted on wheels to simulate movement.
Release and Monitoring
All possums were released in Yalgorup National Park, Western Australia, and tracked via radio telemetry for three months. Two individuals from each of the control and trained groups were excluded from analysis, resulting in a total of 25 possums studied.
Results and Findings
Possums trained to recognize fox predators showed significantly improved survival rates: 10 of 13 trained possums survived compared to 3 of 12 untrained (χ2 = 6.740, N = 25, df = 1, p = 0.009).
Fox predation was confirmed in two possums, both untrained.
The findings confirm that possums can learn to fear foxes, which enhances their chances of survival after translocation.
Conservation Implications
Reintroducing captive-raised individuals to the wild to establish self-sustaining populations is a common conservation strategy. This study highlights predator awareness training as a useful tool to improve success in such efforts.
"Reintroductions, that involve releasing individuals to a site to repopulate the area and establish a self-sustaining population, viable in the long term, are often used in conservation."
Author's summary: Predator awareness training significantly increases survival after release for critically endangered western ringtail possums, supporting its role in successful conservation reintroductions.
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