Jimmy Malecki from The Bog near Casino has spotted the endangered Coastal Emu on his property. Jimmy and Richard have 96 acres of beautiful bush near the Bundjalung State Conservation Area.
Coastal emus are one of the most rare and isolated species in Australia. Listed as endangered under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, north coast emus survive only between Red Rock south of Grafton and Evans Head.
According to early settler documentation, the Coastal Emu was once abundant along the entire eastern seaboard of Australia, including parts of Tasmania and off shore islands.
The coastal population rapidly diminished however with increasing settler expansion and urban development. In the 1980’s the habitat of the North Coastal Emu - although contracting - still extended from Port Stephens in the south to Evans Head in the north. Today, only 15% of that habitat remains.
The north coast emu now consists of three distinct sub-populations. Yuraygir National Park south of the Clarence River, Bundjalung National Park north of the Clarence and Richmond River floodplain about 10 to 30 kilometres inland of the coast, are the only remaining safe habitats for the endangered species.
Courtesy of Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife
