OUR state has 84 species of animal which are considered threatened and a number of these live right here in Melbourne's south-east.
Be they the aptly named growling grass frog, or the little-known dwarf galaxias fish, these species have endured everything we can throw at them and continue to exist, barely, through the efforts of a few caring people and organisations.
Organisations like WWF-Australia Threatened Species Network, which works with the community to stop plants and animals from disappearing, were too late to save the now-extinct western barred bandicoot - the last recorded sighting was in 1922 - and locally extinct long-nosed potoroo and spotted-tailed quoll.
The spotted-tailed quoll, or tiger cat as it was once inappropriately known, is the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials. Spotted-tailed quolls vary from reddish brown to dark chocolate brown with white spots on the body and tail.
It is physically strong in appearance, with a thick snout and wide gape.
It is now non-existent in the south-east, says TSN co-ordinator Natalie Holland.
"Spotted-tailed quoll populations are limited to large, relatively intact patches of forest with suitable den sites and relatively high densities of medium-sized mammals as prey.
"Habitat loss and modification is therefore the greatest threat to the spotted-tailed quoll.
"In Victoria, approximately half of the forests and dense woodland habitat of this species has been lost.
"Timber harvesting practices also have the potential to further reduce and fragment the remaining habitat.
"Other threats are competition and predation from introduced predators, potential impacts from pest animal poison baiting programs, persecution by landholders (in response to quolls killing their poultry) and road mortality."
The south-east's Glorious Swift Parrot is in dire straits.
"This species breeds in Tasmania during summer and migrates to the mainland for winter," Ms Holland said.
"There are only approximately 1000 breeding pairs remaining in the wild and there are a few records each year from metropolitan Melbourne.
"The single greatest threat to the swift parrot is habitat loss - both loss of breeding habitat in Tasmania, due to forestry practices, and loss of its overwintering habitat on the mainland.
On the mainland, the swift parrot depends on winter-flowering eucalypts.
"Another threat to the species is deaths due to collisions with man-made structures such as windows and chain-mesh fences. Each year, up to 30 deaths are recorded from collisions."
Ms Holland said TSN was undertaking a project to develop recommendations on how the risk of collisions could be minimised.
"Another major threat to most of these species are the impacts of introduced species such as foxes and cats."
The Cardinia Environment Coalition has set up a project, through a grant from TSN, to protect and enhance 'Bandicoot Corner', a core area of habitat for the endangered southern brown bandicoot, in Bayles.
Besides animals, plants in the south east have also copped a shellacking from land clearance and agriculture.
Just ask Darren Wallace, manager of Operation Revegetation - the Knox Environment Society's commercial business that works to protect plant and wildlife - in Wantirna.
"A number of orchids no longer can be found, but were known from early surveys by botanists and field naturalists.
"There are also some shrub species that are most likely extinct in the wild and it's predominantly because of land clearance and agricultural land use."
Mr Wallace said Operation Revegetation was responsible for the preservation of at least 20 plant species in the Knox area alone. These included Sticky Everlasting, Matted Flax Lily, Muttonwood and the Silver Banksia (tree form).
A single sticky everlasting plant was found at the Police Paddocks.
"You can't get much closer than that to extinct at a local level.
"The small shrub was recently discovered growing in the Police Paddocks and it was not previously known in this area.
Mr Wallace said plants were grown at the nursery to protect them so they wouldn't become locally extinct and to be able to reintroduce them back into the wild. "These plants need to be doing their own thing in the bush in the future without human intervention."
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