What is Australian Wildlife Week?
Australian Wildlife Week is celebrated from 5-11 October each year. At a critical juncture in our fight to stop any further native extinctions, this may be one of the most important yet.
Whilst this week is a great chance to admire our unique flora and fauna, and revel in our fortune to call this land home, it is also an opportunity to focus on what we stand to lose and how we can stop that from happening.
Our mission at FAME is to enable future generations to wonder at the animals we’re lucky enough to witness today - outside a museum. So for Australian Wildlife Week, we want to walk through some of our exciting success stories from the past, and look at the important projects we’re currently working on.
Exciting project success stories
As you know, invasive species have wreaked havoc on our native wildlife with feral cats a dominant part of that problem having contributed to at least 20 mammal extinctions thus far.
With your help, we have supported many feral management programs including cane toads, the Felixer grooming traps, Eradicat baits, detector dogs and, more recently, invasive weeds that wreak havoc on vital habitat.
These programs are a necessity in the holistic approach to saving species, proven through the conservation outcomes evident in the current numbers of Western quolls, the protection of the Kangaroo Island dunnart, numbat presence in the WA wheatbelt, and the high profile of the Felixer in controlling cats.
Other critical projects you have made possible come from all over Australia and stretch from rare plants to towering animals.
We halted the extinction of the Small-leaved tamarind - a rainforest plant important for many animals in its habitat - through propagation and planting; you helped us protect the Southern cassowary - Earth’s second-heaviest bird! - through revegetation in the Daintree rainforest; the Eastern bettong made a welcome return to Victoria; and, more recently, you may have read about the birth of many new Bush stone-curlews.
The list goes on! We are so inspired by what you’ve all made possible, and are optimistic about what we can still achieve together moving forward.
What conservation projects can you help succeed right now?
And so, with wind in our sails, we have launched a number of projects to further improve the future for Australian wildlife. You can learn all about them by following the links below:
Lord Howe Island: Guarding Paradise
Emergency Bushfire & Recovery Appeal
Protecting the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby
Safeguarding the Western quoll (Idnya)
Securing the future of Australia’s most endangered macadamia species: Macadamia jansenii
Save the Kangaroo Island dunnart from extinction
Help the Southern Bell Frog bounce back
Saving the Mary River “Punk” Turtle
Saving our iconic Tassie Devil
At the start of the 2020 Australian Wildlife Week, I want to thank all of you for your contributions to, and support of, what we have achieved as we work to stop Australia’s extinction rate.
Please consider joining us in completing the projects above, and creating an environment that can sustain itself moving forward.
Tracy McNamara
CEO
Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species