Hello, I'm a Quokka
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Did you know that quokkas have a pouch like a kangaroo? Go Down-Under with the world's "happiest" animal with the Quokka! She is very eager to meet you and introduce you to the world of quokkas. Through simple conversational text, this smiley quokka will share little known facts, the reasons why they are endangered, and how humans are working hard to protect her and all of her quokka buddies in Western Australia. |
Meet the Expert
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Matt Hayward is one of the rare academics with genuine experience in the 'real' world - having worked as an environmental consultant, conservation manager and researcher in the private sector, for NGOs, government and now in academia. Matt conducted a PhD on the conservation ecology of the vulnerable quokka in the Western Australian jarrah forest. He then conducted two post docs in South Africa; the first on bushmeat hunting in the coastal forests of the Transkei with the Walter Sisulu University, and the second at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to study the reintroduction of lions, spotted hyaenas and a leopard to Addo Elephant National Park. After this Matt undertook a Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Polish Academy of Science’s Mammal Research Institute in Białowieża Primeval Forest. He then moved back to Australia to work as the Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s regional ecologist for six reserves in south-eastern Australia covering over 700,000ha and ranging from the deserts of Lake Eyre through the mallee to Sydney’s North Head where reintroduction, ecosystem services, feral eradication/control and fire management were key research issues. Most recently, Matt lectured at Bangor University in beautiful North Wales where his research teams were working on reintroducing red squirrels and pine marten; ascertaining the impact of pine marten on squirrels; the context dependence of humans on wolf ecology; spatial ecology of peccaries, leopards and elephants; invasive snakes; and the impact of neonicotinoids on fossorial mammals. Matt moved to the University of Newcastle in 2017 where he leads the Conservation Science Research Group as Professor of Conservation Science. Learn more about Matt Hayward and about his Conservation Science Research Group.
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