A modified draw-string trap for capture of kangaroos at fences.

Abstract

We modified an earlier design of a draw-string trap to capture free-ranging eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, at Portland Aluminium, Victoria, Australia. The trap consisted of a tunnel of netting suspended from a metal frame erected at a narrow gateway in a fence, which was constructed where kangaroos had established runways between paddocks and shelterbelts. We set up five traps on different fences and operated them from a hide 20 m away. A team of 2 – 6 people drove kangaroos from the paddocks into cover, and the reverse. When a target individual entered a trap, we closed the netting at each end with hand-operated drawstrings, thereby restraining the kangaroo for examination and treatment. We captured 28 individuals a total of 59 times, and encountered few problems. The technique has potential for use with kangaroos and other species that habitually push under fences.