1) Family name: Anatidae
2) Scientific name: Cereopsis
novaehollandiae grisea
3) English name: Cape Barren
Goose (south-western subspecies)
4) Subspecies survival status:
Endangered (despite protection from hunting for half a century the range
has been contracting steadily. The latest survey found that what was thought
to be a population of about 1,000 individuals had declined to about
200 with 22 out of 55 birds sighted being dead, apparently as the result
of a drought. By proposed new IUCN criteria categorized as Critical [Ne
possibly <50, possibly >50% decline in the last generation).
5) Former distribution:.South-west
Western Australia, centered on the Archipelago of the Recherche but occurring
in small numbers on the mainland from Busselton to the Nullarbor Plain.
6) Current distribution: Confined
to the Archipelago of the Recherche with a few infrequent records from
nearby promontories and lakes.
7) Habitat: Grassland on rocky
islands.
8) Reasons for decline: Initially
hunting (confirmed), recently drought and high temperatures (confirmed).
Early visitors to the region shot large numbers of birds to eat but it
has been protected since 1937. More recently many geese died of starvation
during a drought and exceptionally high temperatures in 1990. Neither cause
explains the steady decline throughout at least this century.
9) Conservation reserves on which subspecies
occurs: Most of the islands in the Archipelago of the Recherche
are Nature Reserves.
10) Public land on which subspecies occurs:
The islands in the Archipelago of the Recherche that are not reserved.
11) Other land on which subspecies occurs:
Private land on the mainland visited by non-breeding birds.
12) Is knowledge about subspecies adequate
for objectives and actions to be defined accurately? No.
a) Current estimates of population size need to be refined.
b) Nothing is known of the subspecies' ecological requirements.
13) Recovery plan objectives:
To ensure the survival of the subspecies and the recovery of its population.
14) Actions already initiated: a)
An experimental breeding flock was kept by the Western Australian Department
of Agriculture in the late 1970s with the idea of commercialization.
b) A survey of part of the Archipelago was conducted in December
1990.
15) Actions required: a) Assess the
size and distribution of the population, if possible from the air.
b) Establish ecological requirements of the subspecies in order to
determine causes of the long-term decline. These investigations should
also investigate the possibility that disease is a factor. c) On
the basis of a and b, prepare management guidelines for both the islands
and relevant parts of the adjacent mainland. d) If deemed necessary
on the basis of 16.1, take a small number of birds into captivity with
the aim of supplementing the wild population at a later date. Captive birds
should be kept in amateur collections under Government supervision.
16) Organizations responsible for conservation
of subspecies: Western Australian Department of Conservation
and Land Management.
17) Other organizations and individuals
involved: Western Australian Museum/John Dell.
18) Can the recovery plan be carried
out with existing resources? No.
Remarks: C.n.novaehollandiae is secure.
Both subspecies appear to breed readily in captivity.