ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Falls Creek is home to a variety of different types of fauna, including mammals, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and amphibians. These species are specially adapted to live in snowy, cold climates, or have strategies to migrate during the coldest months.

There are many threatened species found at Falls Creek, including the Alpine She-oak Skink, Alpine Water Skink, Guthega Skink, Alpine tree Frog, Broad-tooth Rat, Alpine Stonefly and Mountain Pygmy Possum. As of 2024, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) lists 8 threatened mammals, 7 birds, 6 reptiles, 4 amphibians, 1 fish, 1 crustacean and 7 insects.

Some of the ways these species survive include hibernating or going into torpor during winter. Their metabolism slows down and their temperature drops until only the essential functions are still going. That means very little energy is needed to survive, so little food is required until hibernation or torpor is over when it is warmer. Mountain Pygmy Possums are a species that hibernates during the coldest part of the season. They store nuts and seeds with them in their nests 2-4m under the snow to nibble on when they occasionally wake up.

Another strategy is living entirely under the snow during winter. As the snow falls, rocks and vegetation get buried. Gaps form underneath that small mammals use to move around in and search for food. This area is called the sub-nivean zone. Under the snow temperatures remain constant around -2 to +2 degrees Celsius, while they vary a lot out in the open. Broad Toothed Rats, Antechinus and Bush Rats all survive in this way.

Nesting together is a strategy both reptiles and mammals use to share warmth. Lizards have been found in the centre of Snow Gum logs hibernating in hundreds.

Migration is common for most bird and flying insect species. Over half of bird species migrate to warmer places by moving to lower altitude areas or flying north to warmer latitudes. All of them return to the high country for the abundant feasts that appear in summer when the vegetation is fruiting, flowers are out, and Bogong Moths are around. Some examples of birds that migrate include the Flame Robin, Pink Robin and Currawong.

Challenges facing the alpine environment at Falls Creek such as increased temperatures with climate change, pest plants and animals, fire, increased infrastructure and pollution are all influencing the threatened state of the wildlife. These challenges lead to habitat loss, lack of viable food, decreased ability to breed and have successful offspring, and being preyed upon by introduced predators.

At FCAR we are working to help reduce these stressors on the fauna. We are liaising with researchers and other organisations to do what we can to conserve these species that are unique to this area.

Learn more about alpine fauna here: The Australian Alps Education Kit - Fauna and the Australian Alps factsheet (theaustralianalpsnationalparks.org)

Scientific name: Agrotis infusa

Bogong Moths are a keystone species for the health of alpine ecosystems in Australia. They are a crucial food source for critically endangered Mountain Pygmy Possums and many other high elevation species.

First Nations peoples have long harvested migrating Bogong Moths as a plentiful and nutritious food source, with different groups converging on the high plains to do business and conduct cross-cultural ceremonies during the migration period.

Bogong moths fly annually in spring from the warm inland plains of eastern Australia to aestivate (go dormant during warmer periods) in the cooler alpine areas along the Great Dividing Range. The moths then return to these inland areas in autumn to breed when food resources are suitable for their larvae.

Mass migrations usually occur at night with moths using the earth’s magnetic fields and the light of the night sky to orientate themselves towards the alpine areas of the Australian Capital Territory, the Victorian Alps and the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. Every year it is each Moth’s first time making the huge journey, it’s incredible that such a small creature has this inbuilt knowledge and ability to navigate so far!

Bogong Moth numbers have suffered a catastrophic decline by about 99.5% between 2018 and 2021. In 2021, the Bogong Moth was added as endangered to the IUCN’s red list of threatened species. The sudden crash in the population is thought to be because of the severe droughts and fires exacerbated by climate change, as well as the use of pesticides, predation by introduced species, habitat loss and light pollution diverting migrating moths from their paths. Drought conditions in this time were so severe that many Bogong Moth larvae didn’t survive into adulthood.

The loss of any species is upsetting, but the rapid decline of Bogong Moths impacts many species. As Bogong Moths are near the bottom of the food chain, they feed much of the alpine ecosystem. They are also nectar eaters and act as pollinators, and their huge reduction in numbers could have a drastic effect on plants along their migration route.

You can help Bogong Moths and all the species that rely on them by not using insecticides, turning off unnecessary lights at night, reducing your carbon emissions and planting native flowers such as correa, eucalypts, tea tree and grevillea that support Bogong Moths.

FCAR monitors Bogong Moth numbers throughout the year to determine trends in their numbers.

You can report Bogong Moth sightings to help scientists know where moths are located and where they’ve gone off track here: Moth Tracker (swifft.net.au)

Scientific name: Galaxias olidus

Look into pools or streams of the Australian Alps and you may glimpse tiny Mountain Galaxias. Using their climbing abilities these fish clamber onto rocks in the splash zone. Here, using heat from the surrounding rocks, they regulate their body temperature which helps them to cope with the icy water around them.

This climbing ability also helps the species to move upstream where possible, beyond the reach of introduced fish such as trout. Trout are not only predators of the Galaxias but also directly compete for food sources such as insects, worms, and bugs. In Victoria and New South Wales, trout have fragmented Mountain Galaxias into isolated populations as they have confined them to the upper reaches of waterways.

Restoring and protecting the alpine moss-beds provides an important refuge for these hardy survivors.

Scientific name: Mastacomys fuscus

This hungry little native mammal has a wide, rounded head and fluffy coat, inhabiting alpine and subalpine heathlands, grasslands, and wetlands. In summer it nests in burrows in the soil and forms extensive runways through the thick vegetation. During winter it dens communally during the day in nests of shredded grass and creates tunnels under the snow in its quest for food. Can you imagine eating over half your body weight in food each day? The Broad-Tooth Rat has a large appetite and eats over half its bodyweight in grasses, sedges and seeds each day.

Unfortunately, sightings of Broad- Tooth Rats are becoming rare due to predation by feral cats and foxes and loss of suitable habitat. Managing predators and protecting and restoring their habitat is important for their survival.

Scientific name: Eulamprus kosciuskoi

Found only in wet alpine moss-beds and heaths, the Alpine Water Skink is critically endangered in Victoria. This skink scares easily and is thought to use the burrows created by crayfish to quickly get out of harm’s way or hide under moss at the wetlands edge. Unlike their lowland reptile cousins, alpine lizards and snakes rarely lay eggs as the conditions are too cold. Instead, they give birth to live young in the warmer months.

The Alpine Water Skink grows to a length of about 20cms and has distinctive dark stripes along its olive brown body. This distinguishes it from the Southern Water Skink, also found in the area, which has a spotty appearance.

Scientific name: Burramys parvus

The Mountain Pygmy Possum is the only Australian mammal adapted to live exclusively in the cold alpine and subalpine zone. They’re covered in thick greyish fur, have a long tail, agile front feet designed for gathering food and enlarged front teeth for cracking seeds.

Over the warmer months they work on almost doubling their body weight by feasting on berries, seeds, insects and fat rich Bogong Moths so that they can make it through the winter. Some of the food they collect is stored for their prolonged winter hibernation under the snow, of up to 7 months.

Mountain Pygmy Possums live primarily among rocky boulder fields and dense vegetation. The coverage from boulders and vegetation allows for gaps to form under the snow (called the sub-nivean zone) that remain between about -2 and +2 degrees Celsius. The stable temperatures under the snow compared to the varied temperatures in the open air are important for Mountain Pygmy Possum survival.

The total adult population is around 2000 individuals and there are a range of threats to this species’ survival.

Like many alpine species, climate change presents a risk for the Mountain Pygmy Possum. A reduction in snow depth because of warming temperatures reduces insulation and makes them more vulnerable to cold exposure. If Mountain Pygmy Possums come out of hibernation early, they risk not having enough food sources that are ready to consume.

Other threats to Mountain Pygmy Possums include the decrease of Bogong Moths (a staple food source), habitat loss, genetic loss through small, isolated populations, bushfires and pest animal species. Roads and infrastructure have reduced and broken up Mountain Pygmy Possum habitat. Noise created by snowmaking and slope grooming overhead may wake Mountain Pygmy Possums unexpectedly over winter.

Significant efforts are being undertaken across Victoria, and within Falls Creek to contribute to stabilising or increasing populations. At Mount Higginbotham and Mount Little Higginbotham, where the Great Alpine Road fragmented the Mountain Pygmy Possum population, a tunnel was created to allow Mountain Pygmy Possums to be able to reconnect their populations. This has been a success in allowing breeding and genetic diversity to increase again.

Falls Creek Alpine Resort and researcher Dean Heinze are members of the Victorian Mountain Pygmy Possum Recovery Team that collaborates and shares knowledge with other partners who are also involved in working to protect the Mountain Pygmy Possum. Works undertaken in recent years as part of the recovery project have included revegetation in burnt Mountain Pygmy Possum habitat using food source plants such as Mountain Plum Pine (Podocarpus lawrencei), and those that provide cover from predators, along with control of feral cats and foxes. FCAR has an annual monitoring program to detect any variation in the relative abundance of the arrival of migrating Bogong moths, which is an important food source for breeding possums.

The Mountain Pygmy Possum Recovery Project is supported by project partners North East CMA, Parks Victoria, Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Traditional Owners and Zoos Victoria, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Scientific name: Canis dingo

Alpine Dingoes play an important ecological role in the alpine landscape, having been part of it for thousands of years. Dingoes are apex predators; they suppress populations of large herbivores and introduced mesopredators such as foxes and cats. Depending on the size of the prey, they hunt alone or in cooperative packs. They mainly hunt at dawn, dusk and in the night. They can run up to 60km/h, travel about 40km in a day and can even successfully climb some trees!

Alpine Dingoes have evolved differently to their relatives, they can live at higher elevations in the colder climate as they grow a second, thicker coat during late autumn to keep them warm over the winter. They are more flexible than dogs and can rotate their wrists and subluxate their hips. They also have much larger canine teeth. The widest part of a Dingo is their skull, so they can easily follow their head through any obstacle without getting stuck. These adaptions aid hunting and moving through burrows.

Dingoes have an annual breeding cycle, with females giving birth to 4-6 pups. Both males and females raise their young. Because Dingoes have a strict social hierarchy lead by an alpha pair, the dominant female of a pack usually kills any offspring of other females. The alpha pair usually mates for life. All members of the pack aid in the survival and raising of the dominant offspring. When pups begin to mature, they leave their family to find territory and start a pack of their own. Dingoes live for about 10 years in the wild.

In Victoria, the Dingo is listed as a threatened species under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. There are misconceptions about the Dingo, with people mistaking them as ‘wild dogs’ and treating them as pests. People have traditionally baited, shot, and trapped Dingoes to protect their land and livestock. This has been detrimental to Dingo populations, alongside habitat loss. There are now other non-lethal deterrents being trialed, such as chemical and acoustic, or having guardian animals for livestock. Unfortunately for Dingoes there has been slow updates to public policy and changing public opinion.

Previous DNA studies suggested that Dingo genetics were going extinct, as Dingoes were breeding with wild dogs and giving birth to hybrids. However more advanced testing showed that almost all the ‘wild dogs’ (nearly 90%) in Victoria were pure Dingoes, despite not always looking like a typical Dingo. The old DNA testing technique only used 23 DNA markers, while testing today uses 195,000 DNA markers and is much more accurate.

Dingoes within Alpine Resorts and the Alpine National Park are protected, and it is important that together we help keep our wild animals safe by ensuring that they do not become habituated to humans. Usually, dingoes are not interested in people.

You can help keep our Alpine Dingoes safe by making sure you:

• Never feed a Dingo.

• Never leaving food or litter in the bush or along roadsides.

• Keep your distance. If you see a Dingo and they see you, stay alert and calm.

• If you feel threatened keep calm and do not run, confidently call for help. Immediately advise FCAR or Parks Victoria if you become aware of any dingo that is behaving in a threatening way.

Read more about Dingoes here: New DNA testing shatters ‘wild dog’ myth: most dingoes are pure (theconversation.com)

Scientific name: Potorous longipes

Long-footed Potoroos are rabbit sized kangaroos with long noses and almost hairless tails. These small marsupials get their energy through consuming the fruiting bodies of underground fungi, small invertebrates and fruit. Fungi are super important for Long-footed Potoroos as they make up about 90% of their diet. This means that high soil moisture content through the year is an essential feature of their habitat. They inhabit montane wet sclerophyll forests over 1000m altitude to lowland forests at 150m with dense understorey vegetation that they use to shelter in during the day. They are nocturnal and forage for food during the night, creating pits in the ground in their search for fungi.

Long-footed potoroos can be distinguished from their relative Long-nosed Potoroos by their longer tail of more than 30cm long, hind feet longer than their head and a leathery pad on the sole of their feet.

Breeding occurs year-round with singular young born 2-3 times a year, usually in winter, spring and early summer.

Long-footed Potoroos are extremely rare with very limited distribution. There are two core populations in Victoria and a smaller population in south-eastern NSW. They are nationally recognised as endangered.

Scientific name: Dasyurus maculatus

Spotted-tail quolls are the largest native carnivore left on the mainland aside from dingoes, and one of the closest surviving relatives to the Tasmanian Tiger. They have a pointed snout, sharp canines and white spots along their body and tail. Their home is in forests, woodlands and heathlands of eastern Australia, favouring rocky escarpments and boulder piles.

These nocturnal marsupials create dens in tree hollows, rock crevices, underground burrows and fallen logs that they shelter in during the day. They are generalists and hunt on the ground and in trees for a variety of food, including birds, reptiles, frogs, eggs and medium sized mammals such as possums and rabbits. They hunt solo and attack prey by biting the back of the skull or neck. If prey is too large to eat in one sitting, Spotted Tailed Quolls will revisit the carcass until it is all gone. Because they are opportunists and eat dead animals, they are susceptible to being hit by cars.

Both males and females breed with multiple partners each autumn and winter, with females having a single litter of up to 6 young between May and August. Young are carried in a rudimentary pouch until they become too large, where they are left in the den while the mother forages. As they only live for less than 3-4 years, and rarely breed after age 3, the threat of populations dying out if there are consecutive low success breeding years is high.

Scientific name: Liopholis guthega

This very rare skink is the highest recorded skink in Australia, only existing on the Bogong High Plains and in Kosciusko National Park between 1600 and 2170m in altitude. With their greyish-brown colour and pale spots, they can blend in with their rocky surroundings. They rely on alpine tussock grasslands, heathlands, and snow gum woodlands for their habitat, creating burrow systems to live in with their family groups. These little reptiles can live for more than 10 years. Females give birth to one to four live young in the summer. They can often be seen basking on rocks taking in the warmth on sunny days. Over winter for about 5 months, Guthega Skinks go into hibernation under the snow.

Their main diet is invertebrates such as insects, worms, spiders and snails. Guthega Skinks help keep the populations of grasshoppers, crickets and beetles from causing damaging effects on the alpine vegetation during seasonal increases.

Climate change threatens the Guthega Skink, as with temperature increases sensitive alpine habitat becomes degraded. Habitat disturbance from development, and habitat degradation caused by introduced species such as deer, feral horses and various weeds are major threats. Vegetation changes from more frequent and intense bushfires is another form of habitat loss, leaving skinks vulnerable to predators. Currently the Guthega Skink is nationally recognised as endangered.