Australian

ThreatenedGreat desert Egernia kintorei Aboriginal names: Tjakura (Pitjantjatjara/Ngaanyatjarra), Warrarna (Walpiri), Mulyamiji (Manyjilyjarra)

Conservation Status What does it look like? Mature adult pairs share burrow systems with their juvenile offspring, and The Great desert skink is a large the young adult leave their birth burrowing skink which weighs up to burrows in their third summer. The Great 350 grams and is about 440 millimetres desert skink are known to move between from the snout to the tip of the tail when burrow systems into vacated burrows of fully grown. other skinks and also those of Mulgaras— The colour of the upper surface of the a rat-sized carnivorous marsupial. skink commonly ranges from light grey to a bright orange-brown while the What does it eat? Great desert skink. Photo by Ada Nano under-parts range from vivid lemon- yellow to creamy grey. The tail is longer Great desert skink feed on large numbers Commonwealth: Vulnerable than the body, and in good seasons the of termites and supplement this dietary mainstay with cockroaches, beetles, (Environment Protection and base of the tail becomes swollen with stored fat reserves. spiders, ants and the occasional small Biodiversity Conservation or flower. Most of their burrow Act 1999) The Great desert skink is one of two systems are located close to termite pans, skinks found in the rangelands listed and the catch termites when they as threatened under the Environment come to the surface to harvest grasses or Northern Territory: Vulnerable Protection and Biodiversity Conservation during dispersal of winged adults. (Territory Parks and Wildlife Act 1999 (EPBC Act)—the other is the Conservation Act 2000) Slater’s skink or Egernia slateri slateri. Most foraging is done in the early evening or during the night in hotter months. Great desert skinks hibernate within specially Where does it live? Western Australia: Vulnerable constructed chambers in their burrow (Wildlife Conservation Act 1950) The Great desert skink is found in systems over the cooler months. the sandy and gravelly habitats of the western deserts region of Central Did you know… Australia. Most of the currently known ● Great desert skinks were first recorded populations are on Aboriginal lands. by European explorers in the Great The skinks generally inhabit spinifex Victorian Desert during the Elder (Triodia species and Plectrachne species) expedition of 1892–93. grassland sandplains and some adjacent ● A distinctive feature of Great desert Current distribution dunefield swales. They live communally skink burrows is the large latrine area Former distribution in burrow systems of up to 10 metres where resident lizards habitually Great desert skink distribution. in diameter, with multiple entrances. defecate. Source WWF-Australia B u i l d i ng r e s i l i e nc e i n t h r e at e n e d s p e c i e s and h ab i tat Altered fire regimes: a major threat

What are altered fire Why are modern fire How you can help regimes? regimes a threat to ● Follow all fire warnings and do not light The areas inhabited by the Great desert skink Egernia kintorei? fires that could escape into the bush. ● Be careful when travelling—never throw have been burnt by Aboriginal people for Great desert skinks have adapted to a patch- matches or cigarettes from a vehicle. thousands of years, as they move around the burning regime, and remaining populations country hunting and collecting resources. This are found in areas which have active fire ● Walk, cycle or use public transport. burning regime involves frequent lighting of management by Aboriginal people. ● Save on heating and cooling costs small fires during particular times of the year, by insulating, draught-sealing and which produces a mosaic of vegetation patches Burrow systems are primarily found in areas shading, while setting thermostats of varying fire-age. With the high frequency burnt in the previous 3–15 years. Research appropriately. For more information and patchiness of burning the chance of large at –Kata Tjuta National Park found that see the ‘Heating and Cooling’ fact sheet or hot wildfire is limited, and these relatively recently burnt habitat improves the chance of the Your Home Technical Manual: cool fires tend to burn to the edge of patches of successful reproduction for the skink, with www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/ burrows in areas burnt within the last 10 years of fire-age vegetation and then die out. ● Switch off lights, appliances and equipment recording the greatest number of juveniles. With the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal when they’re not needed and install burning practices have been significantly altered Surviving a large-scale fire is very difficult for the energy-efficient fluorescent lamps such as in timing, frequency and scale and in places Great desert skink. Food resources and cover from compact fluorescent lights. have altogether ceased. When areas are not predators are severely reduced following a large ● Minimise waste of packaging and burnt for a long time the available fuel load fire due to loss of vegetation cover over large materials—refuse, reduce, re-use, recycle. builds up as the vegetation ages. This increases areas and the resulting loss of invertebrates and ● For other tips on saving energy the potential for larger and hotter fires, especially small vertebrates that live in the vegetation. around the home, go to the when these fires occur during the warmer The effects of predation by feral cats and Australian Greenhouse Office web site: seasons. Many wildfires now burn through more foxes are further exacerbated by population www.greenhouse.gov.au/gwci/index.html than a thousand square kilometres in a single fragmentation due to loss of habitat from event, which creates large areas of vegetation inappropriate fire regimes. of a single fire age. What is being done? Why are altered fire Reducing the number, impact and extent of Contacts and references regimes a problem in destructive wildfires is critical to building an Linda McGuire Australia? appropriate habitat mosaic. Arid Rangelands Coordinator Fire is a critical component of the Australian Further research into the range and critical Threatened Species Network landscape, and our native species have habitat of the Great desert skink, along with T (08) 8952 1541 adapted to living with fire over millions of feral predator control programs and the E [email protected] years. The way fire is occurring throughout continuation or re-instatement of patch burning Visit: www.wwf.org the landscape today, as compared to how regimes are key objectives stated in the recovery plan for the Great desert skink. You can also find out more information fire occurred throughout the landscape about Australia’s threatened species by visiting prior to Europeans arrival, now presents Since 1996, a Parks Australia study at Uluru–Kata www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened a major threat. Tjuta National Park has been monitoring Great or contacting the Department of the An increase in fire intensity and frequency desert skink populations. This ongoing research Environment and Heritage Community has the potential to: project also includes the monitoring of species such Information Unit, email [email protected], as Mulgara and Bilby populations in the area. ● reduce the size of patches of fire or freecall 1800 803 772. sensitive vegetation Threatened Species Network grants projects ● McAlpin, Steve. 2001. A Recovery Plan for ● change the structure, composition involving scientists and traditional owners in the the Great Desert Skink (Egernia kintorei) and abundance of vegetation Nyirripi Community north-west of Alice Springs 2001–2011. Arid Lands Environment ● change the timing of fruiting and and with Martu people in Western Australia Centre, Alice Springs NT. seeding of species have found areas that supported populations ● Paltridge, Rachel and McAlpin, Steve. ● increase the prevalence of fire-promoting of Great desert skink and Mulgara were those 2001. A guide to rare and threatened grasses and visited most regularly for hunting by local in Central Australia. WWF– ● change the availability of nesting people. Patch burning and the hunting of cats Australia, Sydney NSW. and shelter sites for animals. during these hunting visits are thought to be the main reasons for the healthier populations. Total fire exclusion can result in an increase in some woody shrub species at the expense of Projects such as these provide important grasses and species that require fire to reproduce. opportunities for scientists to learn about Great desert skink ecology and habitat, and also As Australia’s climate changes, the problem of demonstrate the importance of the involvement altered fire patterns is predicted to worsen in of Aboriginal people in recovery efforts for northern Australia. Existing fire regimes may be Great desert skink and for many other altered by changes in the amount and extent threatened plants and animals of rainfall patterns, changes in fuel load and in the arid rangelands. wind regimes, and possible changes in ignition e Australian Government a ram of th nd WWF– patterns (i.e. lightning). sed prog Austr es Network is a community-ba alia. tened Speci The Threa