FOXES are still savaging Cockburn’s turtle population, despite warnings from volunteer spotters after a massacre at Bibra Lake last year.

Bibra Lake turtle advocacy group Walliabup Wildlife Warriors say they’ve found another 171 dead turtles around Yangebup and Little Rush lakes since last November’s attacks at Bibra Lake, which yielded 96 carcasses.

The warriors are also worried about what will happen as Bibra Lake dries out again this summer, saying it’s already crisscrossed with fox tracks and dead cygnets have been found with signs of attack.

They say the final toll from 2024 was 190 dead turtles, some the result of roadkill, but the overwhelming majority are thought to have been killed by foxes. 

• Telltale tracks point to a grizzly end at the hands of a fox for this cygnet on Bibra Lake.

WWW member Paul Markendale says last year’s massacre is “not a one-off” for the turtles who are vulnerable “for at least nine months” of the year. 

“Year after year, we’ll find turtles who move overnight and foxes will intercept them, so then we’ll find turtles with their heads bitten off, which is pretty gruesome,” Mr Markendale said. 

“What we’re finding is that they’re not only vulnerable during their nesting season either. 

“The females can come out to lay several times between September and December, and we’re also seeing turtles trying to migrate between wetlands when they dry out, which is December to February, and now until April.”

As well as documenting turtle deaths, the Warriors have also found several swans and cygnets with their heads ripped off, many of which are left near fox dens around the lakes. 

The group report the deaths to the City of Cockburn, according to member Joyce Gadalon, who says they are seeing “no action or analysis” with regards to fox trapping or abatement in the area.

• Volunteers Joyce Gadalon and Paul Markendale with some of the latest victims.

Resistance

“Somewhere along the line we have to see some level of improvement, some level of adaptation and responsiveness to ask what this data tells us, where the gaps are, what do we need to make it better,” Ms Gadalon said. 

“It’s really frustrating that when we do hand it over, it’s not being actioned, and there’s a resistance.

“There’s a lot of field work that actually goes into this, we’re pretty much out here all day, every day, collecting this data…it has to be for the purpose of turtle conservation at the end of the day.”

City representatives have even gone as far as to push the Warriors’ data away, according to Ms Gadalon. 

“At one point, there was so much data they actually told us to leave them alone, and that they already had that information,” Ms Gadalon said.

The City conducts fox control across five reserves twice a year, but it’s not enough, according to the Warriors, who say quarterly efforts are needed to protect the already exposed turtle population. 

“It’s good that they put road signs up to tell people [the turtles] are crossing, and revegetating areas for nesting females, they’re doing weed management,” Mr Markendale said. 

“You can’t just look at these more minor things, which are still important and just ignore the major issues that are impacting the current and future success of these turtles.

“When you look at these turtles, their whole evolutionary pathway is reliant on the adults surviving.

“[A recent survey] from the Harry Butler Institution did some genetic analysis on turtle carapaces we brought in, and found that all of the turtles were highly inbred which means they’re more prone to diseases and are a less viable population.” 

City of Cockburn planning and sustainability director says Dan Arndt, “a majority” of carcasses brought to Bibra Lake’s WA Wildlife “likely” died from natural causes. 

“Perth experienced its lowest October-March rainfall period on record in 2023-2024 and these extreme weather conditions led to significant wetland drying, making turtles more vulnerable than ever before to fox predation…the City increased the length of its autumn fox trapping program in City-managed reserves in response,” Mr Arndt said. 

“While fox control is critical, climate change is a major factor driving turtle vulnerability… dry lakebeds not only make turtles easier for predators to find but also reduce their ability to burrow and escape. 

“Effective fox control requires a regional effort, as foxes roam widely across council boundaries.” 

Mr Arndt highlighted the City’s $155,000 spend on turtle conservation in the last year, including a plan for two additional rounds of  fox control.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER