{"id":442213,"date":"2026-01-30T04:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/442213\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T04:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:00:07","slug":"we-shouldnt-be-surprised-bushfires-in-victoria-push-threatened-species-to-the-brink-endangered-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/442213\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We shouldn\u2019t be surprised\u2019: bushfires in Victoria push threatened species to the brink | Endangered species"},"content":{"rendered":"

As tinderbox conditions continue to hamper wildlife assessment and rescue efforts, bushfires in Victoria<\/a> have burned habitat crucial to bird and animal species, including eastern bristlebirds and dingoes. <\/p>\n

Some plant species are feared extinct.<\/p>\n

Prof Don Driscoll, a terrestrial ecologist at Deakin University, said he was particularly concerned for the state\u2019s population of endangered eastern bristlebirds \u2013 shy songbirds with cinnamon-brown feathers \u2013 after fires near Mallacoota burned about 60% of their habitat at Howe Flat.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s population numbered fewer than 200 birds, and any that survived the flames would now be exposed, Driscoll said. \u201cThat\u2019s a particular concern because these ground-inhabiting birds are hanging around in dense vegetation, and they rely on that for protection from predators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six years ago, authorities mounted a rescue mission to capture 14 birds, fearing the species was at risk of extinction from the black summer fires. There was no emergency mission this time around, Driscoll said.<\/p>\n

There are fewer than 200 eastern bristlebirds left in Victoria. Photograph: Darryl Whitaker\/Zoos Victoria<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s environment department said active fires had prevented it from sending in specialist staff to assess the situation. Once the area was declared safe, the department would establish accurate figures of affected birds and work to reduce threats, such as controlling foxes and cats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this is a concerning situation for the eastern bristlebird population, we\u2019ve had promising recovery results in the recent past, including establishment of a recently translocated population at Wilsons Promontory to help manage extinction risks from these types of bushfire events,\u201d said James Todd, the department\u2019s chief biodiversity officer.<\/p>\n

Bushfires that ignited across Victoria in January have since torn through more than 435,000 hectares of land, as back-to-back heatwaves pushed fire danger to extremes, and caused thousands of flying foxes to perish<\/a> in the worst mass mortality event since black summer.<\/p>\n

Wildlife Victoria said there was likely to have been a substantive loss of animals given the ferocity and scale of the fires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of bushfires on wildlife can be catastrophic. Native animals are often unable to escape fires and are highly vulnerable to death, dehydration, disorientation, burns, injury, and the loss of food and habitat,\u201d chief executive Lisa Palma said.<\/p>\n

The charity continued to receive reports of animals affected, mainly kangaroos, koalas and wallabies, after a record number of calls at the peak \u2013 more than 1,100 in a single day. Assistance was provided where possible, but many firegrounds remained unsafe for rescuers and volunteers to enter.<\/p>\n

Researchers don\u2019t yet know the full extent of the damage caused by the fires, and are waiting until firegrounds are declared safe to collect monitoring equipment. Photograph: Wildlife Victoria<\/p>\n

Victoria\u2019s environment department has deployed wildlife teams across multiple firegrounds to search for and assess affected animals, but a full picture of the devastation has yet to emerge.<\/p>\n

All animals were impacted by the fires, with mammals particularly vulnerable, said Driscoll, the lead author of a Nature paper<\/a> detailing the biodiversity impacts of the 2019-20 fires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t fly away like many birds can. They\u2019re too big to hide in small crevices like some of the frogs, reptiles and insects could,\u201d he said. Animals that sheltered in tree hollows, including greater gliders and yellow-bellied gliders, were especially at risk, he said.<\/p>\n

Prof Euan Ritchie, an ecologist at Deakin University, said animals that survived the heat and flames could still suffer or perish in the aftermath through greater exposure to foxes and cats, reduced food and the loss of hollow-bearing trees.<\/p>\n

Victoria was the most-cleared state in the country, he said, which compounded the effects of other threats.<\/p>\n

Fires in the north-west of the state had burned through 60,000 hectares of Wyperfeld national park, an important habitat for wilkerr (dingo), as well as critical nesting trees for endangered flame-crested cockatoos.<\/p>\n

Researchers don\u2019t yet know the full extent of the damage, Ritchie said \u2013 they are waiting until firegrounds are declared safe to collect monitoring equipment \u2013 but at least one animal was thought to have died, from an adult population smaller than 80 dingoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of recovery efforts, Parks Victoria has worked with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council to install temporary water points in areas of Wyperfeld national park,\u201d Todd said. \u201cThe water points will help wildlife in areas where water is scarce to discourage animals from moving on to private property to seek out water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some threatened plants may have been lost for good.<\/p>\n

Prof David Cantrill, chief botanist at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, held grave concerns for the endangered southern shepherd\u2019s purse, a small native herb with spoon-shaped leaves and \u201cpretty white flowers\u201d, after fires near Harcourt burned Mount Alexander, home to the last remaining wild plants.<\/p>\n

There are fears the southern shepherd\u2019s purse may be extinct after fires near Harcourt. Photograph: Andre Messina\/Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria<\/p>\n

Another major fire near Mount Lawson encompassed a fenced flora reserve containing the only known population of critically endangered summer leek orchids, along with several state-listed species, including the endangered dusky bush-pea and grey rice-flower.<\/p>\n

Botanists were holding out hope that some orchid tubers may have survived in the ground, \u201cproviding it\u2019s not too hot and hasn\u2019t burnt too deeply into the soil\u201d, Cantrill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be able to make assessments towards autumn when anticipated rainfall and improved conditions may lead to germination and re-sprouting,\u201d Cantrill said. \u201cThen our botanists will move in to assess damage to populations and secure seeds and plant cuttings, to propagate as backup populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driscoll said fires were becoming more severe, extensive, and frequent due to human-caused climate change. As well as acting faster on climate change, he said states such as Victoria needed the capability for \u201crapid attack\u201d \u2013 quickly identifying when fires started and investing in enough equipment and people to control and extinguish them before they escalated.<\/p>\n

Some areas, such as rainforests and wetter zones, should be flagged for special protection, he said, similar to how Wollemi pines were saved<\/a> in New South Wales during black summer.<\/p>\n

Dr Tom Fairman, research fellow at the University of Melbourne\u2019s FLARE Wildlife Research, said the state needed an overarching strategy for protecting priority ecosystems as bushfires became more frequent and severe. Elements of the natural landscape were already being lost as fires burned, and then burned again, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be surprised when a fire happens and some of these ecosystems start collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As tinderbox conditions continue to hamper wildlife assessment and rescue efforts, bushfires in Victoria have burned habitat crucial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-442213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}