Clare Peddie, Science Reporter,
The Advertiser
April 26, 2018 11:34am
WHEN bushfire swept through two
conservation parks in the east of the state, a tiny bird with distinctive
emu-like tail feathers was wiped out in South Australia.
But there is hope the mallee
emu-wren will return, thanks to the national Threatened Mallee Bird
Conservation Action Plan and team.
Birdlife Australia has rallied
multiple organisations to the cause, working across mallee areas of eastern SA,
north-western Victoria and Southwestern New South Wales to reintroduce birds to
Ngarkat Conservation Park.
The mallee emu-wren is one of
seven SA birds in the top 20 “red hot list” of Aussie birds most at risk of
extinction, according to the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the Federal
Government’s National Environmental Science Program. Two of the 20 mammals
deemed most at risk are also found here. Research co-ordinator Hayley Geyle
from Charles Darwin University garnered, integrated and analysed the knowledge
of Australian experts (including Peter Copley from the SA Department of
Environment, Water and Natural Resources) to derive a first-ever estimate of
the likelihood of extinction over the next 20 years.
