Shocking act in Australian national park after rare animal’s death revealed

A week after an endangered mammal was found dead in an Australian national park, new details have emerged in its pathology report.

Victorian authorities confirmed with Yahoo that the larger glider showed signs of blunt force trauma. The result is not surprising and conservationists say it is “not difficult to connect the dots.”

• The largest glider was found next to a fallen tree.

• A larger glider hollow was documented in the tree.

• A larger glider was filmed emerging from this hollow days before it was shot down.

The tree was one of dozens earmarked for destruction inside the Yarra Ranges National Park by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), part of the Victorian Government’s Department of the Environment (DEECA).

He says the program is important in preventing bushfires, but last week WWF-Australia called it “utter madness” and questioned why these century-old trees suddenly had to be removed given that some have been in the national park for over 100 years.

Despite the high-profile death of the greater glider last week, the FFMV appears determined to continue felling old trees in national parks. New images have been provided to Yahoo News by Forest Conservation Victoria investigators showing the stump of a 2.85 meter giant discovered on Friday.

The tree is of such a size that four people can be seen sitting comfortably spaced in front of it. It probably grew on the site for over a century.

Why was the tree cut down if an endangered species lived there?

Before the tree containing the greater glider was cut down a week ago, a team from Wildlife Of The Central Highlands (WOTCH) had repeatedly warned the Victorian government and its federal counterpart that the marsupial was living inside . They even produced video evidence which you can watch below.

Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) argued the trees posed a danger to their workers.

“The habitat value of each tree deemed dangerous is assessed by our expert staff in relation to the risk to the public and firefighters, where necessary this assessment is carried out in consultation with independent experts,” said the FFMV a week ago in response to questions from Yahoo.

But the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) disputes that the trees pose a danger. He commissioned his own independent report on tree growers, seen by Yahoo, which assessed 16 trees and concluded there was a one in a million chance they would harm anyone.

Last week, when we asked the FFMV about its decision to cut down the tree. It says: “We do everything possible to minimize impacts on flora and fauna and follow a rigorous planning and approval process.”

The Victorian and Commonwealth governments have a legal duty to protect threatened species. Before the great glider’s death, the federal Department of the Environment told Yahoo it was investigating tree felling in the Yarra Ranges National Park, but it declined to provide details of what that entailed .

What we know about the death of the great glider

Since Sunday, Yahoo News has repeatedly requested a copy of the autopsy report commissioned by DEECA after the death of the great glider.

On Thursday, he confirmed that his pathologists had reported the manner of death as undetermined, but noted signs of blunt force trauma. He did not release the autopsy report.

WOTCH’s Blake Nisbet told Yahoo News on Friday that “it’s not hard to connect the dots” and see what killed the animal.

“The evidence for us is extremely clear. We filmed this large glider emerging from a hollow in this tree two weeks ago. We told them and they shot it down anyway. And that’s where the animal was found dead,” he said.

The FFMV has not yet explained why it cut down the tree, even though there is clear evidence that an endangered species lived there.

Trees providing habitat for the greater glider are rare due to Victoria’s decades-old logging program. They live in eucalyptus hollows that only begin to form after 100 years.

Operations inside Yarra Ranges National Park and Dandenong Ranges National Park, 55km to the southwest, have ceased for the past nine days. Protesters are not convinced that the FFMV is “making every effort” to protect the larger gliders and have locked themselves onto tree felling equipment to prevent their use.

But on Friday morning, Yahoo received new reports from conservationists in the Yarra Ranges National Park that “logging” had resumed and a 2.85 meter wide tree had been felled.

Why the Victorian government’s relationship with conservationists is strained

Since Victoria’s new premier, Jacinta Allan, took office in September, relations have become strained with conservationists.

Several groups, including WOTCH and VNPA, have accused the Allan government of circumventing predecessor Dan Andrews’ announcement that Labor would end commercial logging of native forests in January. Instead, they say his government continues to “stealth mine”, employing contractors formerly associated with state forestry agency VicForests to fell trees in national parks and state forests.

His decisions also appear to have upset the state’s largest wildlife rescue organisation, Wildlife Victoria. She was outraged after her government ignored the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s duck season, ordered under Andrews, which concluded hunting should be banned. Instead, it committed $10 million to support this activity.

At the same time, he rejected Wildlife Victoria’s request for what he described as a “modest” increase in funds to help it respond to a 46 per cent increase in calls for help over the four years until 2023.

On Wednesday, the charity said the government’s failure to immediately release the great glider’s autopsy report highlighted a “worrying trend” in the government’s treatment of wildlife.

“From ancient forests to urban fringe development sites, our state government continues to bulldoze the homes of our wildlife, with often fatal impacts on local people,” Wildlife Victoria said.

“We urge the government to publish the autopsy results and share the results of the investigation. Victorians genuinely care about the survival of our precious native wildlife, it’s past time our government did the same.

Do you love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter featuring the best stories of the week.