Wildlife

The ambitious trial to reintroduce native marsupial species into Sturt National Park is on track, say Wild Deserts conservationists. Western quolls, bilbies and golden bandicoots are slowly taking back a ‘low-cat’ area of the desert – the massive Wild Training Zone of more than 100km2 in Sturt National Park in NSW.

Threatened wildlife like the critically endangered South-east Red-tailed Black-cockatoo have a bright future thanks to a renewed conservation partnership with Bank Australia in the Wimmera. Conservation organisation Trust for Nature is partnering with Bank Australia to manage the bank's 2,117 hectare conservation reserve...

Australia's wild crocodile population has become part of the country's livestock industry. Continued development of the industry requires raising crocodile eggs on farms, rather than collecting wild crocodile eggs in the jungle. This is driving the development of crocodile farms in Queensland and Western Australia.

While the Victorian Government is moving to ban pet crocodiles, the Finocchiaro CLP Government is backing them - with 63 Territorians already licensed to keep 123 crocs, it's proof our unique Territory lifestyle is alive and thriving. Now, the CLP Government is inviting Territorians to have their say on new safety and welfare guidelines to make owning a pet croc simpler and safer than ever.

Community members are being reminded about the danger of bats after a boy was scratched by a flying fox near Crows Nest while attempting to rescue it. William, aged 14, was scratched by the flying fox while attempting to free it from a barbed wire fence on the family's property near Crows Nest, on 10 October.

Australia's export-oriented crocodile industry depends on public opinion in foreign countries and the actions of legislators in those countries. This is the industry's primary problem. Two secondary problems arise from this. Australia's crocodile industry has too little economic potential, and lobbying regulations in Australia are too imperfect for Australian farmers to quickly follow global trends.

The latest national koala population estimates from CSIRO’s National Koala Monitoring Program (NKMP) have revealed a staggering leap in koala numbers that upends years of alarmism. The 2025 CSIRO report estimates the listed population between 398,000 and 569,000, a dramatic rise from the 2024 estimate of just 95,000 to 238,000.  

Australian scientists have observed signs consistent with H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in wildlife during a management voyage to sub-Antarctic Heard Island ... Scientists observed unusual levels of mortality in elephant seals on Heard Island in recent days.

University of South Australia and Kangaroo Island Research Station ecologists have made a remarkable discovery about the mysterious and endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart: it is partial to climbing trees ... “The last thing I expected to find in one of our pygmy-possum nest boxes some distance up in a mallee eucalypt was a dunnart.  It was a wonderful surprise,” says Peter Hammond.

A new koala has taken up residence at Yanchep National Park and as part of a double celebration the name of the first joey born at Yanchep National Park in 15 years has been announced. The new koala called Poppy is five-years-old and comes from Ballarat Wildlife Park.

Have you heard of the Koala Karaoke program? ... Koalas were heard at 23 per cent of sites in 2020, 32 per cent of sites in 2021, 17 per cent of sites in 2022 and 47 per cent of sites in 2023.

Guulabaa – Place of Koala, the world’s first purpose-built wild koala breeding and visitor centre, has been recognised with the Australian Good Design Award Winner accolade in the Built Environment category at the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards.

The 2025 Donald Show opened in fine style on Friday night, drawing an eager crowd for music, food, and the official start to one of Victoria’s favourite country gatherings. Outside, the showgrounds buzzed early as families wandered between food stalls and rides ... Among the many features proving popular on the lawns at Donald’s two-day show, particularly with children, were Professor Wallace’s Puppets (in the background of this photograph), and “Fair Dinkum Fauna Wildlife and Education Displays”.

An independent, NSW Government-commissioned study released in September 2025 has confirmed there is no evidence that selective timber harvesting harms koala populations in NSW’s North Coast forests. 

The Charlton Courthouse Gallery was abuzz with visitors on Sunday, October 5, for the opening of Birds in Focus, the latest exhibition by local farmer and keen photographer, Stuart Giles ... When asked if there was one bird he found especially elusive, Stuart pointed to the Red-capped Robin.

TFTU says the Labor Government is short-changing its own people and not being accountable to workers. The Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union (TFTU) has condemned the NSW Government’s handling of the Great Koala National Park decision, saying workers are being offered redundancy support packages five times worse than their Victorian counterparts.

...Crocodiles aren’t just an iconic part of the Northern Territory - they’re powering our economy too. A new report estimates the industry will contribute $151 million in 2025, supporting more than 300 jobs. The Economic Value of the Northern Territory’s Crocodile Industry ... outlines three growth scenarios that could see the industry’s contribution rise to between $176 million and $243 million by 2035.

The Cootamundra electorate's cutest residents have been the centre of celebrations in Narrandera, with the town's annual Koala Festival last weekend proving to be an ongoing success ... "This event is great for the local tourism economy, and it's an opportunity for us to celebrate one of the region's greatest environmental achievements," said Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke.

Premier Chris Minns says it’s unthinkable that koalas are at risk of extinction. He’s spot on. Koalas are not now and never have been at risk of extinction ... Environment Minister Penny Sharpe says the Great Koala National Park has been a dream for more than a decade. Indeed. The Great Koala Park is the culmination of a campaign by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to extend their empire ... Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty says the Government is committed to a sustainable forestry industry in NSW. I think her ministerial title gives the lie to that.

Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson has slammed the Minns Labor Government’s announcement of the 476,000-hectare Great Koala National Park, describing it as “a massive kick in the guts” for regional communities across the Richmond and Clarence valleys and the wider North Coast region.

Forestry Australia, the nation’s leading body representing forest scientists, managers and growers, expresses its dismay at the New South Wales State Government’s decision to create a Great Koala National Park without a clear, science-led plan to deliver measurable outcomes and avoid negative flow on consequences.

The Minns Labor Government has confirmed the next major step delivering on an election commitment to protect koalas in the wild, announcing the proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park, alongside a comprehensive plan to support workers, industry and local communities ... The park will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000-hectare reserve – one of the largest in NSW.