CONTINUING STEVE’S DREAM AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS StEvE HaD A ViSiOn FoR CoNsErVaTiOn WhErE PeOpLe AnD WiLdLiFe CoUlD LiVe HaRmOnIoUsLy AlOnGsIdE OnE AnOtHeR. ToDaY, STEVE’S LEGaCy LiVeS On ThRoUgH ThE TiReLeSs WoRk Of WiLdLiFe WaRrIoRs, ThE IrWiN FaMiLy AnD AuStRaLiA ZoO. Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Ltd was created by Steve and Terri Irwin, as a way to include and involve caring people in the support and conservation of the world’s most threatened wildlife species and natural habitats. Since 2002, Wildlife Warriors from around the world have joined in a global wildlife force to continue their mission and protect injured and endangered wildlife – from the individual animal to an entire species. The internationally recognised charity is registered in Australia as Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and in the United States as Wildlife Warriors USA. 4 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS Save one, save the species CAMBODIAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION, CAMBODIA SUMATRAN TIGER CONSERVATION KERINCI SEBLAT NATIONAL PARK, SUMATRA WILDLIFE IMAGES OREGON, USA CROCODILE RESEARCH CAPE YORK, AUSTRALIA RHINO CONSERVATION OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, KENYA GREY NURSE SHARK CONSERVATION EAST COAST AUSTRALIA BLACK MAMBAS ANTI-POACHING UNIT BALULE NATIONAL PARK, AUSTRALIA ZOO RESCUE UNIT/ SOUTH AFRICA AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE HOSPITAL BEERWAH CHEETAH CONSERVATION CHEETAH OUTREACH, WHALE SHARK RESEARCH KOALA RESEARCH SOUTH AFRICA WESTERN AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA Disappearing species The International Union for VU VULNERABLE: High risk of endangerment in the wild. Conservation of Nature (IUCN) uses EN ENDANGERED: High risk of extinction in the wild. this scale to classify how threatened certain animal species are. THREATENED CR CRITICALLY ENDANGERED: Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS 5 AuStRaLiA ZoO WiLdLiFe HoSpItAl Car accidents, domestic animal attacks and habitat destruction are devastating to Australia’s native species. As one of the world’s largest and busiest purpose-built wildlife hospitals, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital works to provide thousands of animals each year with a second chance at life in the wild. In memory of Steve’s mother, Lyn Irwin, a pioneer in wildlife care and rehabilitation, Steve and Terri renovated a small avocado packing shed into a functioning wildlife hospital. Four years later, in November 2008, a brand new state-of-the-art facility was opened to accommodate the increasing demand for wildlife treatment and care. It is equipped with a surgical theatre, intensive care units, pathology lab, X-ray room, and is staffed by a team of dedicated and experienced wildlife veterinarians and nurses. The emergency hospital operates 24/7 to provide specialised care to sick, injured and orphaned wildlife patients, at no cost to the public. 2004-2021 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE HOSPITAL Most common animals admitted TOTAL ANIMALS AUSTRALIA ZOO ADMITTED AVIAN POSSUM/ REPTILE KOALA BAT GLIDER WILDLIFE HOSPITAL BEERWAH The Queensland Government helps support the Australia 104,000 46% 13% 11% 10% 7% Zoo Wildlife Hospital. 6 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS Source: Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital AuStRaLiA ZoO ReScUe UnIt The Australia Zoo Rescue Unit travels hundreds of kilometres each day to rescue wildlife in need. Working closely with the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, the mobile team acts as a wildlife ambulance, transporting sick, injured and orphaned native species reported within South East Queensland to the world-class wildlife facility. The specially trained team rescues everything from sea turtles and sea snakes in the ocean and on beaches to koalas and birds in the tallest of trees. The rescue team members climb trees, swim, kayak and patiently rescue sick and injured animals from risky positions so they can receive the medical treatment they need to survive in the wild. Through the funding of equipment and training, Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors provides the rescue team with the tools it needs to get animals to the wildlife hospital in a safe and stress-free way. 2018-2021 AUSTRALIA ZOO RESCUE UNIT Top reasons for rescue WILDLIFE EMERGENCY KILOMETRES HIT BY AUSTRALIA ZOO DISEASED ORPHAN CALLS TRAVELLED A CAR PET ATTACK RESCUE UNIT BEERWAH 33,000+ 5million+ 31% 15% 13% 11% 3,106,844miles Source: Australia Zoo Rescue Unit AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS WARRIORS 7 koala CoNsErVatIoN Despite being one of Australia’s most iconic animals, the koala is under severe threat in the wild.Habitat destruction, road accidents, dog attacks and life-threatening diseases continue to devastate CONSERVATION populations. The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is working to provide koalas with a lifeline. As Australia’s busiest koala hospital, treating up to eight hundred koalas from Queensland and KOALA northern New South Wales each year, the facility is at the forefront of koala research and conservation. In partnership with various universities, the dedicated team of veterinary staff is working to develop advanced diagnostic and treatment strategies, as VU well as long-term solutions to chlamydiosis and retrovirus, diseases decimating koala populations. VULNERABLE Through administering a vaccine to hand-raised orphans before their release, the team hopes to protect koalas from these deadly diseases so they can live long and healthy lives. 2004-2021 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE HOSPITAL TOTAL Top reasons for koala admittance KOALAS ADMITTED DISEASE HIT BY CAR DOG ATTACK ORPHAN KOALA CONSERVATION The Queensland AUSTRALIA Government helps support the Australia 10,000 42% 24% 8% 5% Zoo Wildlife Hospital. 8 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS Source: Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital GrEy NuRsE ShArK CoNsErVaTiOn The grey nurse shark is one of Australia’s most GREY NURSE SHARK endangered marine species with as few as 2,000 remaining in Australia’s east coast waters. Due to their CONSERVATION fierce appearance the species was hunted almost to extinction in the 1950s, but today incidental capture by recreational and commercial fishing is the primary threat facing the population. Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors proudly support grey nurse shark research conducted by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the University of Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast on the east coast of Australia. Steve Irwin’s purpose-built vessel, CR Croc One is used on ventures to discover more about how they use key aggregation sites and to try and locate CRITICALLY ENDANGERED unknown gestation aggregation sites. Through photo- identification studies, acoustic telemetry and satellite tracking, the team work to ensure their nurseries and critical habitats are recognised and protected, to ultimately reduce fishing activity–grey nurse shark interactions. 2019-2020 Grey nurse shark study on Australia’s east coast ESTIMATED CRITICAL ESTIMATED POPULATION EAST- AGGREGATION BREEDING MONITORED REEF HABITAT COAST AUSTRALIA SITES FEMALES LOCATIONS SURVEYED GREY NURSE SHARK CONSERVATION EAST-COAST AUSTRALIA 2 2,000 4 400 40/20 reefs 16,800m 10.5miles2 Source: Bansemer & Bennet, 2020 AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS WARRIORS 9 Conservation Properties CONSERVATION CONSERVATION PROPERTIES Australia Zoo and Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors have proudly attained and now protect over 450,000 acres (703miles2) of habitat dedicated solely to conserving wildlife and wild places throughout Queensland. © Robert mourachan, IrOnBaRk StAtIoN, sT gEoRgE qUeEnSlAnD blackbutt qUeEnSlAnD With 117,174 acres (183 miles2) Ironbark Station comprises 1,630 of one of the rarest habitat types in acres (2.54 miles2) of prime eucalypt Australia, this arid region is home to an bushland on the Great Dividing Range. array of unique wildlife, including the This land has undergone extensive endangered Queensland subspecies reforestation and focuses on habitat of woma python and the little known preservation and care of marsupials, yakka skink. The Brigalow Belt is with particular emphasis on koalas. also the westernmost habitat for the vulnerable, yet iconic, koala. 10 AUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS StEvE IrWiN WiLdLiFe ReSeRvE CONSERVATION CONSERVATION PROPERTIES The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in far north Queensland is a protected haven of global importance, with a wealth of wildlife existing across its thirty-five diverse ecosystems. In 2008, in recognition of Steve’s contribution to conservation, the Australian Government gifted the 333,000 acres (550 miles2) of wilderness to the Irwin family. Just days after the announcement, a mining company threatened to destroy it all, calling into action a leasehold over the most sensitive environmental area on the Reserve. No time was wasted; with the tenacity and strength that Terri Irwin is well known for, she immediately launched and led the campaign to not only prevent this from going ahead, but also to protect the Reserve in perpetuity. The Reserve is now a Strategic Environmental Area, affording the Reserve even more protection than the Great Barrier Reef. Today, the Reserve hosts many research and conservation groups, with the aim to discover more about its unique fauna and flora, and to share the importance of conserving habitats for the future of its species. 2021 STEVE IRWIN WILDLIFE RESERVE Biodiversity of Species on the CAPE YORK, AUSTRALIA Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS BIRDS FISH REPTILES AMPHIBIANS MAMMALS 35 170 48 47 21 20 AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA ZOO WILDLIFE ZOO WILDLIFE WARRIORS WARRIORS 11 CrOcOdIlE ReSeArCh Waterways across