One of seven Rosenberg's goannas from ACT reserve is missing from home for second time in two years
Rum is one of seven Rosenberg's goannas in the ACT, which are part of the National Parks Association's Goanna Project to protect the vulnerable species. (Supplied: NPA ACT)
One of a handful goannas known to live in the ACT's hill reserves has run away from its home — and a local conservation organisation is asking for help bringing him back.
It's the second time in as many years Rum the Rosenberg's goanna has absconded from his home on the Ainslie-Majura Reserve in Canberra.
The National Parks Association of the ACT (NPA ACT) said Rum was one of just six or seven Rosenberg's goannas living in the area, and described him as a "repeat offender" who "ignores all advice" not to explore the suburbs near his home.
The National Parks Association of the ACT posted a wanted sign asking locals to keep an eye out for Rum. (Supplied: NPA ACT)
NPA ACT Ecologist Don Fletcher said the first time Rum went missing from the nature reserve where he lives, he was found in a backyard on Limestone Avenue.
"He actually moved along the street from backyard to backyard … one of which he actually went up to the window [and tapped on it],"Dr Fletcher said.
"Eventually he went on to other houses. I got a phone call and went there, captured him, and took him back up to Mount Ainslie.
"So that was 2024 — and now he turns up in the suburbs, the idiot thing. I wish he'd take the advice and stay in the reserve."
Rum was last spotted in Ainslie by a member of the public on Thursday, November 27. (Supplied: NatureMapr)
Dr Fletcher said when the organisation first came across Rum, in 2022, he had recently been badly hurt in a presumed fox attack.
"He had these big parallel scars — like two incisor teeth — on his neck, and he was pretty moribund,"he said.
"He couldn't run away from us [and] the end of his tail was chewed off."
Rum the Rosenberg's goanna has two deep scars on his neck from a presumed fox attack in 2022, right before the NPA first found him. (Supplied: Don Fletcher)
'There's a lot going on behind that stony stare'
Found only in southern Australia, Rosenberg's goannas face declining populations due to habitat loss and predation, and are listed as vulnerable in both NSW and Victoria.
Rum is one of the Rosenberg's goannas being studied in the NPA Goanna Project as it looks to protect the species through things like genetic sequencing of potential sub-species and population movement tracking.
Dr Fletcher said the not-for-profit had also been lobbying the ACT government regarding fox control and dog walking rules on the Ainslie-Majura Reserve to protect the territory's last-known population of goannas.
Rosenberg's goannas Robin and Rambo are part of Rum's local population and also part of the NPA project. (Supplied: NPA ACT)
"There used to be two kinds of goannas in Canberra, and there used to be multiple populations of both kinds," he said.
"There were two kinds on Black Mountain, for example. [The Rosenberg's and the Lace Monitor, or tree goanna]. They're both gone.
"But Rosenberg's are still out there in Namadgi [National Park], and that's where we're doing most of our research."
Dr Fletcher said goannas were remarkably intelligent, capable of recognising and remembering individual people, and having a memory that lasts for years.
Dr Don Fletcher says goannas, including Rum, are able to count to six and are able to remember things, and individual people, for years. (Supplied: NatureMapr)
"Goannas are known to be able to count to six … which is very rare indeed in the animal kingdom,"he said.
"There's a lot going on behind that stony stare. They remember for years.
"They're well-known in the captive circles, the people who keep them, to recognise individuals — and we're pretty certain we've seen that in the field as well.
"But they certainly do behave differently to different people if they're treated differently, so they're quite interesting animals."