Echidna population recovering on Tasmanian island after bushfires

Rangers and researchers on Lungtalanana/Clarke Island, an Aboriginal-owned island off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, have confirmed the presence of a surviving echidna population.

The discovery follows a period of uncertainty after a 2014 bushfire destroyed a large portion of the island's vegetation, leading to fears that the species had been wiped out. Pakana rangers discovered the first physical evidence of the echidna in September after a ranger captured one in a trap.

This sighting followed several years of remote monitoring, where trail cameras captured multiple images of the animals. Stewart Nicol, an echidna expert at the University of Tasmania, suggested that the island likely hosts between 20 and 30 echidnas, though he noted the difficulty of providing an exact count due to the animals' secretive nature. The news supports the goals of the Lungtalanana Restoration Project, a collaboration involving the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and WWF Australia.

The project aims to return the island to its pre-colonial state by removing invasive predators like feral cats and restoring native plants. Rangers say the presence of the echidna indicates that current land management practices are successfully creating a healthy enough environment for small native animals to emerge from hiding.