New dens prove to be hot property for dozens of native birds and animals at recovering sanctuary

31 July 2024 – Less than six months after 20 dens were installed in a sanctuary destroyed by Australia’s Black Summer bushfires, almost 30 native species have been caught on camera checking out the new homes. 

For the Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust Sanctuary in southern NSW, it’s a strong sign that the once thriving wildlife haven is making a recovery. 

“With so many animals left homeless after the fires, it is encouraging to see these dens providing much-needed refuge for creatures great and small,” IFAW Wildlife Campaigns Manager Josey Sharrad said. 

“And of the 29 native species that visited, about half are actually using the dens, so we’re hoping this will help boost the repopulation of the sanctuary.”  

The Habitat dens are designed primarily for small marsupials but are proving popular with a wide range of animals including echidnas, threatened eastern pygmy possums, lizards, snakes, and a variety of birds including a Chestnut-rumped heathwren. 

The camera traps also recorded a host of other species present on the property including koalas and wombats. The good news is that no feral species entered the dens.  

Since the 2020 Black Summer Bushfires wiped out up to 90% of native animals and left most of the surviving animals homeless, IFAW has been working with Habitat Innovation and Management to restore the 724-hectare property by encouraging native wildlife to return to the sanctuary.  

The dens were designed to mimic the natural hollow logs that many animals lived in prior to the fires and are camouflaged with rocks and sticks to help them blend into the landscape and to insulate them, so they stay cool in summer and warm in winter. They even have a special built in ‘mezzanine’ level for smaller animals to seek refuge off the ground from predators. 

The dens are in addition to 125 Habitat nest boxes that were installed for birds, gliders, and microbats, constructed raptor platforms, 2000 native grasses and trees that have been planted, and soil erosion control and fencing work undertaken to aid landscape recovery. 

Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust Sanctuary owner James Fitzgerald said he is relieved to see life returning to the sanctuary, which is on Ngarigo country. 

“It is heartening to see these dens providing a home and shelter for so many animals. These homes will enable many species to raise their young and rebuild population numbers after the bushfires. Without the installation of nestboxes and dens, the next bushfire would likely cause localised extinctions of species.  

“Every day I see new life returning to the sanctuary which gives me hope for the future.” 

ENDS 

Press Contact 
IFAW Australia 
Jen Walker 
m: 0460 432 901  
e: jwalker@ifaw.org  

Notes: 

• The Habitat marsupial dens were designed and developed by Habitat Innovation and Management. Both the Habitat modular nest boxes and Habitat marsupial dens are made from composite materials, highly insulated, recyclable, UV stabilised, and designed to last decades. 
• Full list of species seen at the dens: Antechinus sp., Australian Magpie, Blotched Blue-tongue Lizard, Brown Snake, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Common Bronzewing, Common Brushtail Possum, Common Wombat, Cunningham's Skink, Dunnart, Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Eastern Pygmy Possum, European Rabbit, Feral Cat, Feral Deer, Feral Fox, Feral Goat, Feral Pig, Grey Shrikethrush, Jacky Dragon, Koala, Laughing Kookaburra, Pied Currawong, Red-bellied Black Snake, Red-necked Wallaby, Rodent sp., Short Beaked Echidna, Spotted Quail-thrush, Superb Lyrebird, Swamp Wallaby, Thornbill sp., Skink (unidentified sp.), White-browed Scrubwren, Willie Wagtail.