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Endangered and Protected Species

Mass fish kill avoided thanks to conservationists and a ute

These glassfish were facing certain death in an almost dry lake before conservationists and government agencies rescued them in the tray of a ute.
Updated
A close up shot of a group of fish in a net

The top secret mission to preserve the 'botanical find of the century'

The Wollemi Pine was thought to have gone extinct two million years ago, until an off-duty ranger stumbled across a grove. Now, experts are doing everything they can to give the tree a second chance. 
Updated
Young Wollemi Pine.

Numbats in the wild doing better than expected despite prescribed burn with dire consequences

There was once thought to be fewer than 1,000 numbats left in the wild, but a new study in southern Western Australia suggests that number is far greater.
Updated
Two numbats next to each other.

Judge orders logging suspension in area of Tasmania home to rare swift parrot

Environmentalist Bob Brown's foundation is challenging the legality of logging at a forestry coupe in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart.
Swift parrot perched on a tree branch.

IVF breakthrough gives hope for northern white rhino

Only two infertile northern white rhinos exist in the world, and the breakthrough in a different subspecies is giving conservationists hope.
ABC News Current
Duration: 6 minutes 31 seconds

Research trip uncovers 24 new animal species in WA's remote Midwest

The southern shovel-nosed snake and spotted military dragon are among the species found in the area for the first time.
Close-up of a tiny lizard with ochre stripes and light spots held gently in the hand of an unseen handler.

World’s first IVF rhino pregnancy could save species

Northern White Rhinos are on the cusp of extinction, but there's hope after scientists performed the first successful embryo transfer in its closely related southern species.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 28 seconds

With just two northern white rhinos left, this IVF pregnancy could save them from extinction

Scientists have carried out the first successful embryo transfer in a southern white rhino using a method that could pave the way to saving its critically endangered northern cousin from extinction.
ABC News Current

Fears for East Kimberley's Gouldian finches after massive bushfires scorch habitat

Spotting an endangered Gouldian finch at Lake Argyle in the Kimberley is a treat for any bird lover, but the impact of two large bushfires, believed to have started from campfires, has worried locals and scientists.
Composite image of gouldian finch and Lake Argyle fires

Population rebound for critically endangered truffle-loving WA marsupial

Woylies play an important part in the Australian ecosystem but their numbers dwindled because of foxes and feral cats. Now, conservationists are seeing signs of a comeback.
A woylie sitting among twigs and shrubs.

Vets seek fresh feathers to get Stan the wedge-tailed eagle back in the air

A Byron Bay vet team is searching for a suitable feather donor for a procedure they hope will help get an injured wedge-tailed eagle soaring again.
ABC News Current

There are about 50 red pandas in Australia, but none have successfully given birth in two years — until now

The new cub at Altina Wildlife Park near Wagga Wagga is the first born in Australia for two years — and with only 10,000 red pandas left worldwide, breeding programs like it are key to survival of the species.
Updated
A red panda climbs through a wooden tube.

'I found PFAS in all except one': Toxic chemicals found in little penguin colonies around Tasmania

Researchers say they have found dangerous chemicals in little penguin habitat and populations around Tasmania.
Updated
Two hands hold a little penguin amongst shrubs.

Fears for endangered bird as rocket proposal encroaches on habitat

An environmental expert says noise and rocket launches run a "very high risk" that the endangered southern emu-wrens will "disappear" from the area.
Southern Emu Wren birds.

These baby turtles are tracked at faster speeds than they can swim, and researchers think they know why

Researchers are trying to figure out what is causing the deaths of the Mary River turtles they have spent years trying to save.
Updated
A tiny baby turtle being held up on a hand.

Family of blue gropers speared in marine park, the second incident off the NSW coast in a fortnight

Fisheries officers are expected to take further action against a man for illegally spearing three female blue gropers at Jervis Bay off the NSW South Coast after seizing both the fish and all his fishing gear.
Three dead fish on the ground where they are being measured

Grassroots group launches last-ditch appeal against wind farm on 'wild and beautiful' Robbins Island

Environmental activists and community members fighting a wind farm planned for Robbins Island, off Tasmania's north-west, say their upcoming court appeal is likely to be the end of the road for them, with money — and hope — running dry.
Updated
Kim Anderson photographed in a grassy field.

Enquiries underway after dead koalas found dumped on cardboard boxes in Victoria's south-west

A Portland resident was horrified to find a dead koala dumped on the side of a dirt road. But then two days later, two more were found at the same location.
Two koalas sitting in a tree

Tiger shark stabbed in the head, heart removed to keep swimmers safe at Queensland beaches

Sandy golden beaches are a tourism jackpot for the Sunshine State, and the Queensland government literally kills to keep it that way.
Updated
Footage shows a shark pithing

'Is that a dinosaur?': One of Australia's rarest reptiles found in regional WA years after relocation program

A WA wildlife carer says she nearly "wet her pants" with excitement, after an endangered western swamp tortoise was found on a dirt track near her home town of Northcliffe.
Western Swamp tortoise again

The flying fox is one of Australia's most important native species.

The flying fox is one of Australia's most important native species but volunteers who care for their injured are stretched to the limit and in need of more supprt.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 13 seconds

Wildlife care groups forced to euthanase abandoned flying fox pups amid shortage of volunteers to care for them

Wildlife carers say grey-headed flying foxes are "amazing creatures" — but the species is dying at an alarming rate, and they're running out of volunteers to help save them.
image of baby flying fox held in a wrap with a dummy in it's mouth

Alleged catch of prized delicacy leaves 13 people facing prosecution in Western Australia

The government says tight management rules are in place because marron, a native freshwater crayfish species, is susceptible to being overfished, as 13 people in the state's South West face prosecution over an alleged catch of 285.
A fisheries officer counts marron in two plastic tubs.

Police in Kenya suspect a man was attacked by a lion while riding a motorcycle

Police in Kenya have recovered the body of a man believed to have been attacked by a lion while he was riding a motorcycle near a national reserve.
A male lion stalks through grassland, with its mouth open and one of its front paws raised slightly.

How Zoos Victoria is using drones to save animals from extinction

In the lead up to bushfire season, Zoos Victoria are embracing all forms of technological innovation to help ensure the survival of our most at-risk native fauna.
Updated
Sakib Kazi kneeling next to a drone.