Geoff Spanner and Rosemary Rogers are the owners of White Claw, a property situated in Wondecla, approximately 100km southwest of Cairns, Queensland. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation site as well as a residence. Geoff and Rosemary intend to preserve the property’s natural values, possibly expanding their conservation work into a neighbouring property for the benefit of native species. The owners are also considering applying for Nature Refuge status in the future to protect their property in-perpetuity.
White Claw spans approximately 7 hectares of Wet Sclerophyll forest on partially steep land and features a permanent creek. The property sits adjacent to Gilby Scientific Reserve, which was declared primarily for the protection of the endangered yellow-bellied glider, and is within 3km of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. With an altitude of 1,050m, this property houses a significant number of crossovers of rainforest and eucalypt forest species.
Vegetation is comprised of Tropical Wet Sclerophyll forest, classified as threatened. The ecosystem has a healthy understory and houses numerous native orchids. The forest is dominated by red mahogany (Eucalyptus resinifera), rose gum (E. grandis) and yanderra (Syncarpia glomulifera).
Wildlife is abundant and includes Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos (Dendrolagus lumholtzi), green (Pseudochirops archeri) and lemuroid (Hemibelideus lemuroides) ringtail possums, yellow-bellied (Petaurus australis) and feathertail (Acrobates pygmaeus) gliders, striped possums (Dactylopsila trivirgata) and leaf-tailed geckos (Saltuarius spp.).
A variety of native or endemic birds are also present including southern cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius), Victoria’s rifle birds (Ptiloris victoriae), sooty owls (Tyto tenebricosa), rufous owls (Ninox rufa) and a wide range of small birds.
