Wildlife students' dream experience

A study of endangered tigers in their natural Asian environment by two University of Queensland students culminated in a close-up experience with the big cats at Dreamworld, on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane today.

Leanne Sambrook and Paula Phillips visited Tiger Island to share their Thailand adventure with wildlife specialists from the Gold Coast theme park which sponsored the month-long field trip.

Leanne from Coffs Harbour and Paula from Brisbane have completed degrees majoring in wildlife biology and are now undertaking an honours year at UQ Gatton.

Their real-life tiger experience was hosted by Dr. Tony Lynam of the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society which has a major tiger conservation project underway in Khao Yai National Park north of Bangkok.

Paula said her wildlife studies had been inspired by a visit to Africa and she planned to travel overseas to work with endangered species after completing her year at UQ Gatton.

'It was a great experience in Thailand learning how they track and monitor animals in the wild.'

Leanne said the Thai conservation authorities had a constant battle to stop poachers from hunting in the parks. Remote camera traps were used to 'capture' tigers as well as poachers. Tigers pass an infra-red beam, which triggers the camera. Dr Lynam used the unique stripe pattern on the tiger body captured on film to determine the number of tigers in the park.

Leanne has been adapting the remote camera trap method to suit wildlife in Australia. This method could be used to study marsupials like quolls that have unique markings on their body.

Wildlife Biology lecturer, Dr. Luke Leung, said the Bachelor of Applied Science (Animal Studies) degree with a wildlife biology specialisation offered at UQ Gatton was the only one of its kind in Australia.

Students had the opportunity to work with real wildlife projects. 'This is real life experience that will not only educate the students but will also help save tigers,' he said.

The wildlife biology program boasts a 100 percent satisfaction rate from graduates as well as their potential employers.

Dr. Leung said the University hoped to build on its relationship with Dreamworld.

'The tiger is an icon in wildlife conservation and Dreamworld is obviously committed to helping preserve these beautiful animals. This collaboration between Dreamworld and UQ Gatton is a win-win situation producing benefits for both tigers and wildlife students,' Dr. Leung said.

For more information contact Anthony Smith on (07) 5460 1229