Wildlife & Ecology

Tasmania is one of the most unspoiled parts of Australia. Nearly 37 percent of the state is protected by national parks, nature reserves or by World Heritage Site status. As an island, Tasmania has developed its own particular set of flora and fauna in isolation from the mainland. Some species share their ancestry with those found on mainland Australia or in South America, although they have diverged a great deal since the continents were joined together 50 million years ago. Tasmania is home to many endemic species of both plants and animals, which are found nowhere else on earth.

The vegetation on Tasmania is very diverse. There are dry grasslands, evergreen eucalyptus forests, cool temperate rainforests, moorlands and alpine healthland. Many of the oldest and tallest trees in the world live in Tasmania. One of the oldest Huon pines is believed to be over 10,000 years old, while there are Eucalyptus regnans trees in the Styx Valley that are among the tallest trees in the world, at more than 90 metres in height.

Some of the unique species on Tasmania have been lost following the European colonization of the island, while others survive, but have been put at risk. The Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine was a marsupial species that was similar in behaviour and appearance to a wild dog. This animal is believed to have been hunted to extinction. The last known Thylacine in captivity died in 1936.

The Tasmanian Devil fared better than the Tasmanian Tiger. Tasmanian Devils are carnivorous marsupials that are endemic to the island. They are stocky animals about the size of a small dog and they produce a characteristic screeching growl. They are scavengers, with a vicious reputation. Although the survived the European settlement, Tasmanian Devils are now at risk from a new threat. Their populations have dropped by as much as 80 percent in many parts of Tasmania as a result of the rapid spread of devil facial tumour disease.

Tasmania is home to a number of important species and populations of birds and amphibians, including the Tasmanian Native-hen, Dusky Robin, Green Rosella, Tasmanian Tree Frog, Moss Froglet, Growling Grass Frog, and the Tasmanian Froglet.