Wildlife Australia Magazine

Hallowed mission to protect hollows

AUSTRALIAN wildlife is unique in its dependency on tree hollows – even dead and fallen tree hollows.

This edition looks at the need to protect old-growth bushland, with its abundance of hollows, versus the ease with which that thriving forest can be flattened.

Some ecosystems are at inflection points that could result in local disappearances of koalas, antechinus, possums and – most telling of all – our unique gliders, largely because of bush clearing and the wholesale loss of hollows.

Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) speaks plainly about the role hollows play in Australia’s bush ecosystem health.

“Small hollows with narrow entrances suitable for small animals such as the brush-tailed phascogale and the eastern pygmy-possum take about 100 years to form,” WIRES reports. “Hollows of a medium size and suitable for animals such as parrots will take around 200 years to form.

“In Australia many native species need tree hollows, including 17% of bird species, 42% of mammals and 28% of reptiles. They include bats, possums, gliders, owls, parrots, antechinus, ducks, rosellas and kingfishers as well as numerous species of snakes, frogs and skinks.”
This puts the recent dialogue Wildlife Queensland leaders had with Queensland Government environment officials into perspective, leading up to government assurances to secure vital greater glider forest habitat.

A few weeks after this meeting, a Wildlife Queensland team of experts and citizen scientists ventured into St Mary State Forest, near Maryborough, to document a population of greater gliders (Petauroides volans) – but were shocked to see logging taking place less than 3km from this site.

This edition features a range of stories that state and re-state the importance of protecting bushland in which hollows are a feature. Hollows could rightfully be named as one of Australia’s greatest natural resources.