First echidna spotted on Lungtalanana in more than a decade

Echidnas hadn’t been seen on this remote Tasmanian island since a devastating wildfire ripped through more than a decade ago. Now rangers celebrating a monumental win are hoping for more.

Lungtalanana rugged coast. Photo: WWF-Australia Chris Crerar

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre is leading a bold project to restore and rewild the Bass Strait Island, Lungtalanana.

The organisation is celebrating a “monumental” restoration win after a trimanya, or echidna, was spotted through trail cameras on the island for the first time in more than a decade.

Pakana Rangers are now set on finding out if it is a loner or if there are others.

Pakana Ranger supervisor Kulai Sculthorpe said it was a deeply significant discovery to have “soil movers” back on the island.

No-one had seen an echidna on Lungtalanana Island in Bass Strait for decades, until this one was spotted on a trail camera. Photo: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre

“We the Pakana Rangers were so excited to discover the island still had trimanya,” he said.

“For all the hardships our Country has faced and also our community it’s the little moments like these that really ignite the fire underneath us all and provide that hope there is a future where our Country can be healthy again.

“It also shows us that our Country does need us to play our role, to protect, conserve and cherish the values of our Country, “ Mr Sculthorpe said.

The trail camera snapped the echidna in the same location in August and November, 2023.

The Pakana Rangers have contacted scientists to see whether the individual was the Tasmanian subspecies of echidna or one unique to the island.

The TAC has been preparing for the return of a range of species to the island by removing weeds and resuming cultural burning.

The organisation has been monitoring species on the island through trail cameras over the past two years, which is where the lonely echidna was spotted.

March 20 is World Rewilding Day and the World Wide Fund For Nature-Australia is highlighting the work of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and the Pakana Rangers on Lungtalanana.

Lungtalanana rugged coast. Photo: WWF-Australia Chris Crerar

WWF Australia rewilding program manager Rob Brewster said the management of Lungtalanana demonstrates that returning species of cultural importance to traditional owners and restoring the ecosystem are “fundamentally entwined”.

Pakana Rangers are attempting to secure funding to rid the island of feral cats which are a major threat to native species.

European colonisation wiped out most native species on Lungtalanana. Farmers cleared land to create sheep and cattle pasture.

Cats released on the island in those early days then preyed on small animals and birds.

A feral cat on lungtalanana after killing a native water bird. Photo: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. JPG

The traditional owners were prevented from conducting cultural burning, which led to more severe wildfires, altering the structure of remaining vegetation.

In 1995 the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania bought a large area of the island under a lease agreement.

Lungtalanana or Clarke Island was the first official handover of Crown land to an Aboriginal community in Tasmania following the passing of the Aboriginal Lands Amendment Act 2004 in May 2005. It was declared an Indigenous Protected Area in 2009.

Originally published as First echidna spotted on Lungtalanana in more than a decade