Bunyas to Border
Species Supported
Koala:
Koalas are endangered on the east coast of Australia. If they were to go extinct, the health of eucalypt forests would suffer as the marsupials look after their habitat's ecosystem by controlling plant growth, enriching the soil with their scat, and reducing the amount of eucalypt leaves that could fuel bushfires. Koalas are a keystone species: if we can improve their habitat, we can help many other species.
Greater glider:
Australia’s largest gliding mammal has been endangered in southern and central Queensland since 2021 due to habitat loss and bushfire. The nocturnal animal only has a single joey each year, so it is vital we do all we can to help them survive. We have installed specially-designed nest boxes for the species, and were thrilled to see their big round fluffy ears emerging from their new homes.
Glossy black-cockatoo:
The world's smallest black cockatoo, glossies (as they are affectionately known) in eastern Australia are vulnerable to extinction. They feed only on the seeds of she-oak trees, and removal of these trees and the forests that support them, is threatening their survival. Glossies mate for life and may only raise a single chick every couple of years, which is why our efforts to preserve their habitat and support their breeding are so vital.
Brush-tailed rock-wallaby:
There are only small, fragmented populations left of this vulnerable species that was once common between southeast Queensland and Victoria. Key threats are habitat destruction, predation by foxes and loss of genetic diversity. Increasing their habitat, especially around rocky escarpments, and creating corridors between colonies is vital for their survival.
Grey-headed flying fox:
Currently classed as vulnerable due to loss of roosting and foresting habitat, these large bats are very susceptible to heat stress which is becoming more frequent with the changing climate. They are found along most of the east coast, roost by day in large colonies and disperse each night to find flowers and fruit as far as 40km away. Australia's bats are especially important to native forests as they spread seeds and pollen across large distances and between fragmented forests as they forage on our native plants.
Rainbow bee-eater:
Sightings of this spectacular bird have dropped by more than half in the last couple of decades. They prefer to be near a water source in open forests or woodlands, and nest in sandy banks where they dig a tunnel more than 80cm long. Found across most of Australia (and also eastern Indonesia and New Guinea), bee-eaters are northern residents but southern populations flock to the north for winter, returning in summer to breed. These mobile birds rely on insects to fuel migration and everday survival.
Painted button-quail:
Found in open forests and woodland across eastern Australia and south-west Western Australia, the habitat of this ground-dwelling bird is reducing in extent and quality, exposing the species to increased predation from feral cats and foxes. They are not often seen or heard, but their presence is obvious from distinctive "soup-plate" depressions in the leaf litter formed by the bird spinning alternately on either leg and using the other to scrape away the leaf litter during their search for seeds and insects.
Speckled warbler:
This small, ground-dwelling bird is vulnerable to extinction in southern Australia. Whilst still considered common in Queensland, ongoing habitat destruction and modification and predation by feral cats and foxes is causing local population extinctions. These songbirds rely on woodlands with an understorey of tussock grasses and sparse shrubs, to provide seeds, insects and nest sites.