Holly R. Cope

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Project Officer Threatened Species at NSW Department of Planning and Environment

The 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season had a devastating impact on native wildlife. It was estimated that 3 billion native animals were impacted by the fires, yet there are few estimates of the number of animals that were rescued and rehabilitated post-fire. Focusing on the state of New South Wales (NSW) and Kangaroo Island, South Australia, we u...

In line with the objectives of both the 2022 National Recovery Plan for the Koala Phascolarctos cinereus and 2022 NSW Koala Strategy, our study aimed to draw on the long-term records of koala rescue in NSW from 1973 to 2020 to describe trends in admissions across NSW. A total of 18,039 koala admission records were collated from 1973 to 2020. Koalas...

Volunteer wildlife rehabilitators rescue and rehabilitate thousands of native animals every year in Australia. However, there is little known about how exposure to novel stimuli during rehabilitation could affect the physiology of wildlife. We investigated this question in a species that commonly enters rehabilitation, the common brushtail possum (...

Koala rescue from the bushfires over the extended 2019–2020 fire season in NSW was a high-profile media topic over many months. We sought to determine how many fire-affected koalas were rescued and admitted to rehabilitation in NSW, what was the fate of these koalas, what parts of the state were involved, and how many other koalas entered rehabilit...

Context The koala is a threatened species in New South Wales and long-term datasets of koala rehabilitation provide a valuable source of insight into local threats. Aims To examine the long-term trends of the cause and fate of koalas admitted for rehabilitation to assist monitoring the recovery of koala populations and provide a new outlook on the...

Context Post-release monitoring of rehabilitated koalas is lacking, meaning that the long-term success rate is unknown. Aims We addressed the question: will a koala released from rehabilitation re-join the wild population and survive for months, if not years? Methods Using ear tag records as unique identifiers of individual koalas, we sifted the...

Millions of native animals around the world are rescued and rehabilitated each year by wildlife rehabilitators. Triage and rehabilitation protocols need to be robust and evidence-based, with outcomes consistently recorded, to promote animal welfare and better understand predictors of wildlife survival. We conducted a global systematic review and me...

There have been significant advances in the development of animal-borne sensor technologies, or biologgers, in recent years. This has resulted in tremendous capacity for wildlife researchers to remotely collect physiological, behavioural and social data from wildlife in circumstances that were unthinkable just decades ago. While this technology can...

Contraception is increasingly used to manage breeding opportunities in conservation-dependent species. This study aimed to determine the efficacy, duration of effect, optimal dose and potential side effects of Suprelorin contraceptive implants in Tasmanian devils, for use in the conservation breeding program. In our pilot study, Suprelorin was foun...

In captive breeding programs, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize the retention of genetic diversity by managing the reproductive contribution of each individual, which can be facilitated through the use of selective contraception. This becomes critical when captive populations are held for several generations, and managers must preve...

en Contraception has an established role in managing overabundant populations and preventing undesirable breeding in zoos. We propose that it can also be used strategically and selectively in conservation to increase the genetic and behavioral quality of the animals. In captive breeding programs, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize th...