Rare animals battling extinction threat

Rare animals battling extinction threat
By Bronwen Kiely
Posted Wed Apr 2, 2008 8:36am AEDT Updated Wed Apr 2, 2008 9:17am AEDT

The brush-tailed rock wallaby is one of many Australian species under threat. Since European settlement two centuries ago, Australia has lost almost a third of its unique mammal species.
Major causes like habitat loss, foxes and feral cats are well known. But now there's a new threat that some experts argue is the most dangerous of all: climate change.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett has pledged to spend almost $200 million creating reserves for endangered species.

Deborah Ashworth, from New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife, says brush-tailed rock wallabies used to be abundant all the way from southern Queensland through to Victoria.
"In the early 1900s they were hunted for their fur and they were declared vermin and agricultural pest and hundreds and thousands of them were killed," she said.
The hunters are long gone but with only a few thousand of these wallabies left, the threat of extinction remains.

Zoologist Tammie Matson, from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says Australia has the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world.

"We're pretty good at cricket and swimming and sports and a lot of things in Australia but we're also really good at killing our mammals, and that's something not to be so proud of," she said.
Ms Matson is heading a WWF push to educate Australians about this woeful record by compiling a top 10 list of species under threat.

"When you get to the point where you're saying right, we can't save everything, this problem is so bad, I think that really shows just how bad the crisis is," she said.
The list includes the recently discovered snubfin dolphin, the tree kangaroo, and the northern quoll.

Deep in the bush near Eumundi in south-east Queensland Wildlife Queensland's Scott Burnett is on a quest for quolls, possum-like creatures that are highly endangered.
"In southern Queensland I found that quolls are hard to find. They're almost the same sort of status as Tasmanian tigers," he said.

This animal detective is setting camera traps hoping to snare a prized shot of a northern quoll.
"There's numerous rumours and sightings that are made but apart from this one skeleton that came from this property here, there's been no physical evidence of them here for the last 50 or 60 years," he said.

"So we're trying to just verify whether they do persist here because if they do it's a very significant population."

The film comes back with plenty of exotic and not so exotic locals, 149 of them, but sadly not a single quoll.

"Undoubtedly there's many more extinctions waiting to happen," he said.
"We really need to take drastic action soon if we're going to prevent those extinctions."
Under threat

It's not just rhetoric. In the past 200 years Australia has driven 27 of its mammals species to extinction. That's nearly half of all the mammals killed off worldwide in the last 500 years. Ninety-one of our remaining species are under threat; four are on the verge of extinction right now.

If we are complacent, they too will become museum curiosities, frozen in time. A mundane metal cupboard in the bowels of the Australian Museum is a last resting place for lost mammals.
The museum's Sandy Ingleby says the last known mammal extinction was the thylacine in 1936.
"There haven't been any recent waves of extinction but certainly the factors that contributed to the extinctions in the past are still there," she said.

Ms Ingleby is the keeper of the musty remains that make up one of Australia's largest museum mammal collections, 46,000 artefacts dating back to the 1860s.

"It's a constant reminder of how fragile the ecosystems are and the difficulty in bringing them back," she said.
"I think some species are really very close. They are a number that are down to such low numbers that anything could happen."

The country's leading experts agree it is likely more of our species are headed for the cupboard.
A new report by the CSIRO says climate change will bring inevitable and unpalatable choices.
The CSIRO's Mike Dunlop says he does not think it is feasible to protect all species in the wild.
"We may be able to identify some that will go extinct and protect them in zoos or botanic gardens but many species will be threatened and probably a large number will go extinct," he said.

Breeding plan
A group of brush-tailed rock wallabies are at the frontline of the battle to survive a changing world.
They are part of the captive breeding program on the New South Wales central coast which one day will send joeys back into the wild.
Warrigal the wallaby was originally trapped in NSW Kangaroo Valley. Now he is doing his bit to ensure the colonies he came from don't die out.
Meanwhile, tucked away in the rugged escarpments of Warrigal's former home, a love story is unfolding.
This remote corner of bushland was one home to a thriving band of brush-tails.
Last year, National Parks officers were dismayed to discover the colony had been reduced to one lonely female.
They named her Roxy and in the first program of its kind brought in three wild wallabies to save her line. Using radio collars an infra-red cameras National Parks staff are monitoring what appears to be a blossoming romance.
Now the wait is on for the first signs of that tabloid staple, the baby bump.
"Hopefully over time we'll keep adding to this colony and we'll eventually have a healthy colony of 20 or more animals that are doing really well and spreading out into the vacant habitat around here," Ms Ashworth said.
It is one small good news story amid the gloom.
Ms Matson says Australia has animals that aren't found anywhere else in the world.
"If we lose the quokka, we lose the greater bilby they're gone forever from the whole world," she said.
"To me, that would be absolutely devastating and I'm certainly not going to sit by and watch that happen."

Queensland Protected area management plan register

Protected area management plan register
Protected area name
Management plan publication name
Governor in Council approval
Auburn River National Park
Auburn River National Park
17/09/1998
Bakers Creek Conservation Park
Bakers Creek Conservation Park
31/08/2000
Barnard Island Group National Park
Barnard Island Group National Park
17/09/1998
Blackwood National Park
Blackwood National Park
17/09/1998
Bowling Green Bay National Park
Bowling Green Bay National Park
19/10/2000
Broadwater Conservation Park
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Brook Islands National Park
Brook Island and Goold Island National Parks
25/11/1999
Buckleys Hole Conservation Park
Buckleys Hole Conservation Park
17/09/1998
Bullock Creek Conservation Park
Bullock Creek Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Burleigh Head National Park
Burleigh Head National Park
24/02/2000
Cape Hillsborough National Park
Cape Hillsborough and Pioneer Peaks National Parks
17/09/1998
Capricorn Coast National Park
Capricorn Coast National Park
31/08/2000
Capricornia Cays National Park
Capricornia Cays National Park and Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific)
29/03/2001
Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific)
Capricornia Cays National Park and Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific)
29/03/2001
Carbook Wetlands Conservation Park
Carbrook Wetlands Conservation Park Serpentine Creek Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Carnarvon National Park
Carnarvon National Park Management Plan
Coalstoun Lakes National Park
Coalston Lakes National Park
31/08/2000
Cressbrook Conservation Park
Cressbrook Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Culgoa Floodplain National Park
Culgoa Floodplain National Park
17/09/1998
Currawinya National Park
Currawinya National Park
29/03/2001
D’Aguilar National Park
D’Aguilar National Park
17/09/1998
Dalrymple National Park
Dalrymple National Park
17/09/1998
Deepwater National Park
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Deepwater Resources Reserve
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Dipperu National Park (Scientific)
Dipperu National Park
17/09/1998
Djilgarin Conservation Park
Djilgarin Conservation Park
19/10/2000
Dwyers Scrub Conservation Park
Dwyers Scrub Conservation Park
17/09/1998
Epping Forest National Park (Scientific)
Epping Forest National Park (Scientific)
17/09/1998
Eurimbula National Park
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Eurimbula Resources Reserve
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Family Islands National Park
Family Islands National Park
19/10/2000
Forest Den National Park
Forest Den National Park
17/09/1998
Forty Mile Scrub National Park
Undara Volcanic and Forty Mile Scrub National Parks
24/02/2000
Frankland Group National Park
Frankland Group National Park
17/09/1998
Glass House Mountains National Park
Glass House Mountains National Park
17/09/1998
Goold Island National Park
Brook Island and Goold Island National Parks
25/11/1999
Great Sandy Conservation Park
Great Sandy Conservation Park
31/08/2000
Green Island Recreation Area and and Green Island National Park
Green Island Recreation Area incorporating Green Island National Park, part of the Cairns Marine Park (State) and part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Commonwealth)and Green Island National Park Management Plans

Hinchinbrook Island National Park
Hinchinbrook Island National Park
25/11/1999
Holbourne Island National Park
Holbourne Island National Park
17/09/1998
Hope Islands National Park
Hope Islands National Park
17/09/1998
Horseshoe Lagoon Conservation Park
Horseshoe Lagoon Conservation Park
19/10/2000
Idalia National Park
Idalia National Park
17/09/1998
Indooroopilly Island Conservation Park
Indooroopilly Island Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Jalum Conservation Park
Jalum Conservation Park

Joseph Banks (Round Hill Head) National Park
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Keppel Bay Islands National Park (Scientific)
Keppel Bay Islands National Park (Scientific)
17/09/1998
King Island Conservation Park
King Island Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Kondalilla National Park
Kondalilla National Park
17/09/1998
Littabella National Park
Littabella National Park
31/08/2000
Lochern National Park
Lochern National Park
17/09/1998
Mariala National Park
Mariala National Park
17/09/1998
Maroochy River Conservation Park
Maroochy River Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Mazeppa National Park
Mazeppa National Park
31/08/2000
Michaelmas and Upolu Cays National Park
Michaelmas and Upolu Cays National Park
17/09/1998
Minerva Hills National Park
Minerva Hills National Park
17/09/1998
Mooloolah River National Park
Mooloolah River National Park
24/02/2000
Moorrinya National Park
Moorrinya National Park
17/09/1998
Moreton Island National Park
Moreton Island National Park
29/03/2007
Mount Aberdeen National Park
Mount Aberdeen National Park
17/09/1998
Mount Bauple National Park (Scientific)
Mount Bauple National Park (Scientific)
17/09/1998
Mount Blarney Conservation Park
Mount Blarney Conservation Park
31/08/2000
Mount Coolum National Park
Mount Coolum National Park
17/09/1998
Mount Hector Conservation Park
Mount Hector Conservation Park
31/08/2000
Mount Martin National Park
Mount Martin National Park
17/09/1998
Mount Ossa National Park
Mount Ossa National Park
17/09/1998
Mount Scoria Conservation Park
Mount Scoria Conservation Park
31/08/2000
Mouth of Baffle Creek Conservation Park 2
Protected areas in the Agnes Water/1770 area
17/09/1998
Narrien Range National Park
Narrien Range National Park
17/09/1998
Nicoll Scrub National Park
Nicoll Scrub National Park
17/09/1998
Noosa National Park
Noosa National Park
25/11/1999
Nymph Island National Park (now part of Turtle Group National Park)
Nymph Island National Park
17/09/1998
Orpheus Island National Park
Orpheus Island National Park
19/10/2000
Pioneer Peaks National Park
Cape Hillsborough and Pioneer Peaks National Parks
17/09/1998
Pipeclay National Park
Pipeclay National Park
31/08/2000
Poona National Park
Poona National Park
31/08/2000
Porcupine Gorge National Park
Porcupine Gorge National Park
17/09/1998
Reliance Creek National Park
Reliance Creek National Park
17/09/1998
Rocky Islets National Park (now part of Three Islands Group National Park)
Rocky Islets National Park
17/09/1998
Rundle Range National Park
Rundle Range National Park and Rundle Range Resources Reserve
31/08/2000
Rundle Range Resources Reserve
Rundle Range National Park and Rundle Range Resources Reserve
31/08/2000
Serpentine Creek Conservation Park
Carbook Wetlands Conservation Park Serpentine Creek Conservation Park
24/02/2000
Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park
Sheep Station Creek Conservation Park
17/09/1998
Southwood National Park
Southwood National Park
17/09/1998
Tarong National Park
Tarong National Park
17/09/1998
Taunton National Park (Scientific)
Taunton National Park (Scientific)
17/09/1998
Three Islands National Park
Three Islands National Park
17/09/1998
Tregole National Park
Tregole National Park
17/09/1998
Triunia National Park
Triunia National Park
17/09/1998
Turtle Group National Park
Turtle Group National Park
17/09/1998
Two Islands National Park (now part of Three Islands Group National Park)
Two Islands National Park
17/09/1998
Undara Volcanic National Park
Undara Volcanic and Forty Mile Scrub National Parks
24/02/2000
Venman Bushland National Park
Venman Bushland National Park
17/09/1998
Welford National Park
Welford National Park
17/09/1998
White Blow Conservation Park
White Blow Conservation Park
19/10/2000
Wondul Range National Park
Wondul Range National Park

World Heritage Areas

People still talk about the seven wonders of the world. Today, world heritage areas are considered the most outstanding heritage places on earth.

World Heritage areas are outstanding examples of the world’s natural or cultural heritage. The World Heritage Committee oversees world heritage listing on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Australia has 16 world heritage properties. Five are in Queensland, one of the most naturally diverse places on earth.

The wet tropical rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef protect two of the world’s most diverse ecosystems.

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area straddles the border between New South Wales and Queensland, protecting subtropical and temperate rainforests.

Riversleigh fossil site in north-west Queensland tells the story of how our native animals evolved to be so different from wildlife elsewhere.

At Fraser Island, you can actually see the very processes of change which made this island worthy of world heritage listing.

The Australian Government has to ensure that Australia’s world heritage properties are managed to protect their natural and cultural values.

Read more about World Heritage areas in Australia.

In 2006, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service commissioned a report into compiling a case for World Heritage on Cape York Peninsula. This report is now available online.