Threatened species and the built environment
Fact sheet
Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2004
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About the fact sheet
Across Australia around 1550 species are currently threatened with extinction1. More than 1230 of these species are plants, and approximately 320 are animals. Did you know that 27 mammal species have become extinct since the arrival of Europeans in Australia? The national threatened species list currently contains 86 mammals that are threatened, including the Tiger Quoll, which inhabits parts of eastern Australia.
There are more than 100 listed bird species, including the beautiful Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo, which lives in the southwest of Western Australia. Around 50 reptiles are threatened, including the Great Desert Skink, which lives in the Western Desert region and is very important to local Aboriginal people. And 37 species of fish are listed, including the critically endangered east coast population of Grey Nurse Shark.
But the list is dominated by plants, one of which is the stunning Large-club Spider-orchid, whose range is limited to the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.
The Threatened Species Network (TSN), a community-based program of the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust and WWF Australia, is working in partnership with community groups as well as state, territory and local governments to ensure the protection of our native species. The $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust also provides support for a range of other vital local, regional and national conservation projects across Australia.
1 1550 species listed (excluding extinctions) as of 21 July 04, www.environment.gov.au.
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