Report a wildlife sighting

We would love your help to find out more about the presence and distribution of our local wildlife. By using the Community Web Mapping Portal (CWMP) linked below, you can add in your own wildlife sightings for everyone to see, and also keep track of everyone else’s sightings.

This local commmunity project has been initiated with the support of the Norman Wettenhall Foundation, who have provided the Cape Otway Centre with the innovative CWMP software.

We are particularly interested in Tiger Quoll (or Spotted-tailed Quoll) sightings at the moment but please feel free to add in anything of interest – small mammals, birds, marine life, or even the Otway’s carnivorous snail… Your input will provide important information to assist our conservation efforts.

You will find the PDF instruction manual on the left of this page for download, which will show you how to use the CWMP. There are also some summary instructions on this web page, below, on how to add a wildlife sighting. However if you are not comfortable using the CWMP please feel free to email your sighting to us and we’ll put it up for you – include the species, location, date, your name (or you can remain anonymous if you like), and any photos or extra details about the sighting.

How to Use the CWMP

The first step is to register, which is free and will then allow you to add, delete and modify wildlife sightings. Click the link to the interactive map icon on the left of this page, and when the web page comes up go to “Not Registered? Register Here” – fill out your details and you are immediately ready to use the mapper.

To login – Click into the “User ID” box and type in your User ID name and password, then click “Login”

If you know the area on the map you want to look at, type it into the “search” box and click “search” and the map will automatically zoom to that area. If you click on the icon in the shape of a hand, you can then drag the map around to get to a different area. Click on the “Zoom” box to draw a square on the map to zoom into, then click the yellow box to zoom back out. We are most interested in any sightings on private land or public land (National Park and Forest Park) in the region of the Great Otway National Park or Otway Forest Park, including both coastal and inland areas. Anywhere from Anglesea to Colac to Princetown.

To add a wildlife sighting – in the menu bar that contains the hand tool, click on the icon that looks like a large dot (you must be logged in to add a site). Select this tool and then click on the map where you want to add your wildlife sighting. A “Site Box” will appear for you to fill out, put in as much detail as you can. Under the drop down menu in the “site box” select “fauna”. Then click “Save” and your sighting will appear on the map. You can add as many as you like.

Log out or close your internet browser when you are finished. Thank you for helping us keep track of wildlife!