The Great Western Woodlands is an Ark for our wildlife providing a unique haven for a community of animal species that are now threatened elsewhere in Australia. This is because similar habitats in Western Australia and through much of southeastern Australia have been heavily fragmented and cleared.
The region has a diversity of different foraging, nesting or roosting habitats for an array of animals some rare and vulnerable.
Relatively few comprehensive surveys have yet been undertaken. The Western Australia Museum and Birds Australia atlas database has recorded 49 species of mammals, 138 reptile species, 14 frog species and 215 species of bird in the region. In addition to the value of the region’s species richness in general, the number of different reptile species make the Great Western Woodlands exceptional among the world’s reptile communities.
Many of these animal species are known to be rare and vulnerable, such as the Malleefowl, Red-tailed phascogale, Regent Parrot and White-striped Free- tail Bat.
On the state government’s rare and endangered fauna list are 32 threatened vertebrate species that either exist, or are likely to exist, in the Great Western Woodlands. These comprise 16 mammal, 8 bird and 8 reptile species.
The Wilderness Society, through a grant from the Wind Over Water foundation, conducted a vertebrate fauna survey of the Honman Ridge – Bremer Range, and found 19 species that were of conservation significance in that area alone.
In this picture - Malleefowl
Malleefowl are large ground dwelling birds unique to the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia. In WA they are endangered, and nationally they are listed as a threatened species. Malleefowl survival will depend on conservation efforts to address loss of habitat (clearing, fires, remnant vegetation decline), introduced species (foxes, cats, rabbits, goats) and greater community awareness. Rural community groups such as The Malleefowl Preservation Group Inc. and the Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre aim to ensure the Malleefowl's survival through on-ground projects and community awareness campaigns.
