Latest news with #KulaiSculthorpe
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rangers celebrate after trail cameras capture the return of an animal once thought locally extinct: 'Monumental'
Rangers are celebrating the sighting of a mammal once thought to be extinct in the Australian island it is native to. The echidna is an egg-laying, insect-eating mammal that is a native species to Lungtalanana Island off the coast of Tasmania in Australia. It is also known as a trimanya among Tasmanian Aboriginal people. After a wildfire devastated the island in 2014, conservationists believed that the animal was locally extinct. To the delight of local rangers from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Center, an echidna was recently caught on trail cameras. "The importance of having trimanya back on the island is monumental," said Kulai Sculthorpe, a ranger supervisor with the center, in a news release from the World Wildlife Fund. Trail cameras are an essential tool for conservationists to track populations and manage endangered species without disturbing wildlife. Species management is crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems, which directly impacts the livelihoods of the humans who live in them. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Center has been on a mission to restore the island after years of destruction from bushfires and the effects of European colonization. This mission involves bringing back culturally significant native species that are believed to be locally extinct, such as the echidna. Rangers from the center are now trying to determine if there are more echidnas on Lungtalanana Island. Echidnas are important to the local ecosystem because they help improve soil that has been depleted of nutrients from years of bad farming practices, according to Australian Geographic. This promotes plant growth and keeps carbon in the soil rather than the atmosphere. Soil health plays a factor in extreme weather events, such as wildfires, which can displace humans and animals. Soil with low moisture can cause plants to stop growing and dry out, creating fuel for these fires, according to Mirage News. Rob Brewster, rewilding program manager at WWF-Australia, said in a news release that echidnas "push leaves and seeds underground, enriching soil – they can turn over about seven tons a year." Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Animals like wombats and echidnas are ecosystem engineers," Brewster said, adding, "Their return will be an important milestone for this ambitious venture." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Miami Herald
26-03-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Egg-laying mammal — feared locally extinct after wildfire — rediscovered in Australia
On a small island off the southern coast of Australia, a spiky mammal emerged from the forest and walked through a clearing. Its brief appearance, captured by a nearby trail camera, turned out to be 'monumental.' For the past two years, rangers with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre set up trail cameras across Clarke Island, also known as Lungtalanana Island, to survey the 'remaining wildlife,' World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Australia said in a March 19 news release. The trail cameras are one part of an ambitious plan to 'restore the island' and bring back 'culturally significant native species' after 'European colonization wiped out most native species,' WWF said. Rangers were recently reviewing trail camera images when they saw 'a totally unexpected sight': an echidna, the organization said. Echidnas are egg-laying, insect-eating mammals native to Australia, according to the Australian Museum. The country has only one species, the short-beaked echidna, which can be found throughout the mainland. 'For decades, no one had seen an echidna on Lungtalanana Island,' WWF Australia said in a March 19 Facebook post. After a 'devastating' wildfire in 2014, echidnas were feared locally extinct. But these trail camera photos proved otherwise. Photos show the spiky, brown and white echidna walking in a clearing. The photos were taken in August and November 2023 and probably show the same echidna, conservationists said. 'We the Pakana Rangers were so excited to discover the island still had trimanya,' the name for echidna in the aboriginal palawa kani language, according to Kulai Sculthorpe, a Pakana Ranger supervisor. 'The importance of having trimanya back on the island is monumental,' Sculthorpe said in the release. 'These little guys will fit in perfectly to the cultural landscape we are trying to reinstate there, especially with the ecological values they bring.' But is this echidna the last one on Clarke Island? Or are there more hiding out there? Rangers don't know yet but 'are determined to find out,' WWF said. 'For all the hardships our Country has faced and also our community it's the little moments like these that really ignite the fire underneath us all and provide that hope there is a future where our Country can be healthy again,' Sculthorpe said. Clarke Island sits off the southern coast of mainland Australia and north of Tasmania.
