Australia is a home for various animals and plants. You can consider observing these animals to see in Australia. However, due to a lot of threats to their survival, most of the organisms, especially the animals in Australia become critically endangered.
There are around 96 critically endangered species of animals as listed by the IUCN. As humans, we need to prevent them from extinction as the main threats are us, humans.
The main causes of their declining population are mainly caused by humans, such as fire, habitat loss and threats from other animals. It is only us humans who can prevent the status from becoming worsened.
The condition of endangered animals is not experienced only by Australia, but also the whole world just like elaborated in endangered primates around the world! Before taking an action, let’s meet these 5 endangered animals in Australia.
- Black-flanked Rock-Wallaby
Black-flanked Rock Wallaby is a species of marsupial inhabiting the parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. In the Western Desert, this animal is known as Warru or the Black-footed Rock-wallaby.
They mostly inhabit the areas of rugged rocky where they can shelter during the day in the caves, cliffs and screes. They mainly feed on grasses, forbs, shrubs, occasionally seeds and fruits.
Unfortunately this animal is in the status of being endangered. There are several reasons triggering their population, for instance the clearing of the habitat, fire patterns and some introduced predators, such as foxes and wild cats. The Black-flanked Rock-wallaby has become one of the 20 mammals which recovery of the species is prioritized by the Australian Government.
Wallaby is similar to kangaroo, both of them are originated from Australia and have interesting habit of feeding their babies. Get to know more about the facts of kangaroo babies feeding habit.
- The Eastern Curlew
This critically-endangered species of animal is known to be the largest of all the world’s shorebirds. The Eastern curlews have the impressive bills that they use to probe mud and dig up crabs and mollusks as their main food. Unfortunately, the population of the Eastern curlew has been declining by more than 80% for the past 50 years.
The reasons are habitat destruction and alteration to the chain of coastal wetlands along their migratory path. Many of the wetlands are destructed by urban development, mitigation and agriculture and pollution. Humans, domestic dogs and vehicles are also the main causes of stress to birds on the beach areas.
The Eastern curlews take an annual migratory flight to Russia and north-eastern China to breed, then arrive back home to Australia to fatten up. Then, they continue their long journey up to the north again to breed.
This bird can be spotted in the coastal regions of the north-eastern and south-eastern Australia. As their status is critically endangered, they can also be found at the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary where their habitat is strictly protected.
- Gouldian Finch
The Gouldian finch is one of the birds with beautiful feathers. The Gouldian Finches have impressive and stunning color of their plumage that is appealing to bird enthusiasts.
No wonder, many of them were trapped in the wild by the local and international bird trade up until the early 1980s. The other causes of the declining population of the Gouldian Finch are the parasitic air-sac mite and habitat changes.
They depend on fire as their way of survival. During the dry season, they will be able to find more food, which are seeds on the ground because of the controlled fires to burn the undergrowth.
During the wet season, they prefer to live in the areas which have been burned in the previous dry season. The areas which have been burned before produce new growth with plenty of seeds.
- Kroombit Tinker Frog
The Kroombit tinker frog is a small frog originated from the northeastern Australia that is 2.5 cm long. This species of frog is highly cryptic, which means that it employs markings and coloration which enable it to camouflage perfectly in its natural environment.
The Kroombit tinker frogs can be found in the piccabeen palm rainforests. You can find this species of frog among the rocky areas or often under rocks near streams and sheltered areas. The Kroombit tinker frogs are active during summer months and mostly inhabit near the area of water courses.
The Kroombit tinker frog is listed as one of the critically endangered species of animals in Australia. This species of frog is known to have low population number due to wildfire, predation and habitat degradation.
The habitat degradation is caused by the timber harvesting in the area. Now, the habitat of the Kroombit tinker frog is strictly protected within Kroombit Tops State Forest.
- Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Glossy Black-Cockatoos are mainly found in the eastern Australia, from the south-eastern Queensland to eastern Victoria. This species of cockatoo is known as the smallest of the five black cockatoos.
It has a brown-black head, neck and underparts, and red or orange-red tail panels and an otherwise dull black body. The Glossy Black-Cockatoos mainly feed on Allocasiarina seeds. They also feed on some wood-boring larvae.
Do you also know that one species of cockatoo is one of the most expensive birds in the world?
Unfortunately, the status of this bird is critically endangered. The main causes are habitat loss, changing patterns of bushfires and threats from other animals.
Their habitat is mainly destructed and some glossy black-cockatoos are even trapped for illegal bird trade. Bushfire is also another concern causing the declining population of this bird.
Casuarina trees, which are the main sources of the birds’ food, are fire sensitive and easily killed by an intense fire. Lastly, the threat from other animals, such as feral cats and possums that like to raid the birds’ nests.