Australian Wildlife Conservancy

What do *you* call this lizard? 🫵🦎 The Shingleback skink's many common names (including bobtail, stumpy and pinecone lizard) often reference its distinctive appearance--chunky scales and a wide, stumpy tail that mimics its head, confusing predators. Its tail also serves as a fat reserve, helping it survive winter without food in a process known as brumation. Beyond its striking looks, the Shingleback boasts many other remarkable adaptations. It detects and responds to smoke rapidly and gives birth to live young—sometimes weighing nearly a third of the mother’s body weight—to boost their survival chances. It also uses an incredible in-built "celestial compass" to find its way home when displaced, and to track long-term partners even outside of mating season. 🧭💗 📸 Tiliqua rugosa, G Hornstra/AWC 📍 Mallee Cliffs National Park (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service)—where one of Australia's largest feral predator-proof fences protects these slow-movers (and over 70 other reptile species) from cats and foxes. #Shingleback #ReptileLovers #BlueTongueLizard #AussieReptiles #AWC

🐗 Feral pigs are a porker of a problem for Australia’s biodiversity 👎 While swine might not be one of the usual suspects when you hear the word feral – they are equally as devastating to the natural environment. Over 1,452 feral pigs were recently removed at Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary on Northern Kaanju, Wik, Wik Way and Central West Wik Country in Cape York QLD. In this region, they are particularly abundant and extremely damaging. Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/gMM5RkvR 📷 S Gray/AWC

Ecologists were enthralled in a game of ‘spot the quoll’ as they flew ✈️ over WA’s Wheatbelt on Badimia Country, in search of eight missing Chuditch (Western Quoll). The plane was deployed to assist the search party 🔍 in their pursuit of the quolls that had fallen off ecologists’ radar late last year, after they were released at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary. Fortunately, four of the eight missing individuals were tracked down – some having travelled as far as 30km from the sanctuary! 🔗 Read more about the great search: https://lnkd.in/gC5ueJth 📷 C Harvey/AWC #AustralianWildlife #AustralianWildlifeConservancy #WildlifeConservation #SearchParty #WesternQuolls #Chuditch Quolls #Wildlife

We’re celebrating World Wildlife Day 🐨 and its theme of ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet’ 🌏 with the establishment of the Australian Wildlife Endowment Fund. Working with asset consultants at JANA, the Endowment Fund will help us generate a sustainable, long-term and secure income source to fund our significant work in restoring nature and protecting wildlife across the country. More: https://lnkd.in/gqF3WiBF 📷 J Holding/AWC #AWC #WorldWildlifeDay #AustralianWildlife #InvestingInConservation #InvestingInThePlanet #ConservationFinance

We’ve got the zoomies because the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat featured in Sunday’s (2 March) episode of ABC Landline 🙌 In it, AWC ecologist Andy Howe discusses our efforts to understand and protect this critically endangered species. You can watch the episode back on ABC iView. 📹 AWC #AustralianWildlife #AWC #Wombat #AustralianWildlife #WildlifeConservation #WorldWildlifeDay

Today is #CleanUpAustraliaDay. Let’s follow the lead of this busy Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata) which is tidying up its bower at Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary on Kooma Country in QLD and clean up Australia! AWC is dedicated to conserving all Australian native animal species and the habitats in which they live. We regularly clean up habitats through our fire management and weed programs. 📸 A Simple / AWC #AWC #AustralianWIldlifeConservancy #CleanUpAustraliaDay #KeepAustraliaClean

Phenomenal plant survey outcomes at Dakalanta Wildlife Sanctuary! 🤩🌱 Over two months, our team: 🌿 Added 45 species to the sanctuary’s record with at least 30 more expected after ID by South Australia's herbarium 🌳 Mapped and monitored the recovery of critically endangered vegetation communities 🔍 Established and surveyed 22 monitoring sites 📸 Documented hundreds of plant specimens Two green thumbs up from AWC for the staff and volunteers who got their hands dirty to unearth these great finds… and more! 🌱 Read the blooming lot 👉 https://lnkd.in/g6AnnPUr 📸J Kemp, K Bellchambers / AWC 📍 Nauo Country, SA. Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, South Australia #AWC #Plants #Botany #Biodiversity #ConservationSuccess #PlantNerd #Plant #Fieldwork #Ecology

Did you miss our recent webinar about birdlife in Central Australia? Well, you're in luck! The recording is now available 🦅🦢🦆 Share with all the bird lovers in your life. #AWC #AustralianWildlife #WildlifeMatters #Webinar https://lnkd.in/gt2_zvsq

Controlled burns are about far more than just fighting fire with fire… 🔥❌🔥 Learn how we use low intensity ecological burns to protect habitats and biodiversity with Josh at Waulinbakh (NSW). 📹 A Howe/AWC 📸 Parma Wallaby (Vulnerable and protected at Waulinbakh). Tierfotoagentur / Alamy Stock Photo #FireManagement #ControlledBurn #EcologicalBurn #Conservation #Habitat #WildlifeConservation

“You walk inside the fence at night and it’s Australia as it once was… a rich and functioning environment" - AWC Board Director Professor John Woinarski in a great discussion about the role of predator-proof exclosures in restoring wildlife and ecosystems. Listen to the full episode of ABC Radio's 'Animals - Us and Them' series 👉 https://lnkd.in/gMzWuy9n