By JESSE GRAHAM
SENSITIVE platypus habitat will be protected after the government’s Green Army marched through the hills earlier this month, cordoning off special spaces to help the native animals flourish.
The Green Army group, in partnership with the Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group and Belgrave Platypus, put up 120 metres of fencing at Belgrave Lake Park through January to protect platypus habitat.
Erected on 16 January, the fencing still allows people – and their dogs – to access a 20-metre stretch of the creekline, which has been separated from areas with platypus habitat.
President of SDLG, Vicki Boyle, told the Mail that one of the biggest threats to the animal was habitat loss, which occurred when areas near waterways became heavily developed, or animals or people accidentally damaged habitat areas.
She said the fence solved this problem.
“Belgrave Lake Park is a wonderful area where dogs can just run amok – they play and run and run and get very hot, and when a dog gets hot, its first instinct is to get to water,” Ms Boyle said.
“That’s why we’ve kept this one particular area for dogs and kids – and kids can do just as much damage as dogs.”
Green Army Supervisor Martin Forster said the fence allowed people, their pets and the platypus to co-exist in the same space, while ensuring the habitat would be preserved.
“Everyone understands that it is a dog park as well, and we wanted to make sure the dogs had an area to play so they could co-exist with each other,” Mr Forster said.
“The job was put to us, and Yarra Ranges Council provided all of the resources and tools to do the job, so we got it done.
“Everyone’s happy and the guys gained some new skills in how to build a fence.”
Other media outlets have stated that the fence was created to prevent dog attacks, and that dogs had been known to attack, injure and even kill platypuses.
However, Ms Boyle, who proposed the fence idea, said that was incorrect.
“There has never been a recorded dog attack on a platypus at Belgrave Lake Park,” she said.
She said there had been one instance of a fox attacking and taking a platypus at night-time in a drought season, but that platypuses were nocturnal and that dogs were not a threat.
The park is an off-lead area for dogs, and Ms Boyle said the majority of its visitors – human or otherwise – were friendly and used the space properly.
The Green Army group, which is sponsored by the Community Weed Alliance of the Dandenongs (CWAD), has been stationed in the hills for the last six months.
A new group is expected to begin working in the area later this year.
