![]() Legge sat on the Threatened Species Scientific Committee that recommended the bird be considered endangered. “We’re quite sure that the bird has declined possibly by as much as 69 percent.” “We think that they were declining before the fires already as a result of climate change-related factors,” professor Sarah Legge told ABC News in August 2021. Gang-gang cockatoos were also struggling before the bushfires impacted 36 percent of the species’ range. Overall, their numbers had fallen by about half between 20. Most famously, koalas were listed as an endangered species last month after the bushfires precipitated their decline. The bird is just one Australian species whose conservation status had to be reconsidered after the extreme bushfires of 20. ![]() They are especially popular in Australia’s capital of Canberra, where they frequent both suburban backyards and nature reserves, The Guardian reported. Their call sounds like a squeaky door hinge. They are gray-green in color, but the males have bright red heads and fluffy crests. Gang-gang cockatoos are a small cockatoo that lives only in southeastern Australia, according to eBird. “But we do welcome the announcement because what this does, is it provides us with the opportunity to increase focus on the species and it means that we will be able to work with other jurisdictions in terms of understanding what the health of this species is.” “Gang-gangs are a much-loved species in Canberra, and so, obviously, we are saddened by the announcement,” Vassarotti told ABC News. One assessment cited by the committee suggests that the 2019-20 fires had led to a decline in populations of 15% to 30%.In another example of how the climate crisis is impacting Australian wildlife, the animal emblem of its capital territory will be listed as a threatened species.Īustralia’s Environment Minister Sussan Ley emailed Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti to tell her that the gang-gang cockatoo should be reclassified as “ endangered” according to the threatened species list, as Australia’s ABC News reported. The committee’s listing assessment for that population recommends its status remain at endangered.īut the south-eastern populations, previously unlisted, have been recommended for a vulnerable listing, in part due to the pressure on foraging habitat. There were fears for the birds on Kangaroo Island in the aftermath of the fire disaster, and concerns its status might reach critically endangered. Glossy black-cockatoos are also fire sensitive and are dependent on casuarina seeds as their food source. The southern long-nosed potoroo is another affected animal and has been recommended for a vulnerable listing. ![]() The committee has moved to quickly assess wildlife that might qualify for a threatened listing or upgraded threat status after the fire disaster.Ī decision on whether eastern koala populations should be listed as endangered is expected later this year. “Any species that’s fire sensitive is going to really struggle,” she said. She said gang-gangs needed time to recover after such a disaster, something that would be made difficult with more frequent severe bushfire seasons. ![]() “That would have potentially taken out nesting hollows and destroyed a lot of their foraging resources,” she said. Sarah Legge, a scientist who sits on the committee, said the bushfires had affected 36% of the birds’ range and about half of that had been burnt by high-severity fire. The listing assessment says increased heatwaves and fire frequency as a result of the climate emergency were increasing pressure on the species across its range, with bushfires likely to reduce the amount of nesting habitat available to the birds.
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