Kalamurina Wildlife Sanctuary
Well-timed pulse of water set to rejuvenate life on Kalamurina
One of Australia's least known but most important rivers has recently broken its banks, flooding desperately thirsty ecosystems on Kalamurina Wildlife Sanctuary. Heavy rain in the upper parts of Lake Eyre Basin earlier this year has been slowly making its way along a network creeks and rivers over 7,500 km long. Running right through Kalamurina, the Warburton River is the final conduit of most of this water. The river enters Lake Eyre itself along a massive trench – The Warburton Groove – and it has been only in the last week that the water has flowed out of the Groove and is now filling Lake Eyre itself.
While it remains to be seen just how full Lake Eyre gets, some locals are saying this is the most significant flow of water they have seen in over 40 years.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) acquired Kalamurina station in December 2007. The property includes the entire north shore of Lake Eyre and the final 100+km of the Warburton River. The Warburton, Kallakoopah and Macumba Rivers converge on Kalamurina before entering Lake Eyre. The habitats associated with the lower reaches of these rivers – such as lignum thickets, etc – make Kalamurina a unique property within one of Australia’s most iconic regions.
Kalamurina is the largest non-government reserve in Australia and one of the largest in the world; it covers nearly 7,000 square kilometres, linking Lake Eyre National Park and Simpson Desert Regional Reserve. The recent pulse of water into Kalamurina is well-timed, as AWC begins transforming the landscape from one focussed on production to one dedicated to conservation.
It is an exciting time for AWC:
- Small mammal populations are likely to increase dramatically in the flood-out areas, once the waters recede. This important process will effectively boost densities across large parts of he property. If numbers increase sufficiently we should see Letter-winged Kites visit the area en masse – these rare, desert dwelling birds are unique in being the world's only truly nocturnal raptor.
- Rabbits are being flooded out of the dense riverside vegetation into the waiting talons of wedge-tailed eagles and jaws of dingoes. This means that it is a good time for AWC to undertake rabbit control while the population is being reduced by natural predators and displaced into more open areas.
- The flooding is likely to lead to the germination and recruitment of coolibahs (made famous as the tree in Waltzing Matilda and as the Bourke and Wills Dig Tree).
Kalamurina's habitats protect a suite of threatened and declining mammals including Dusky Hopping Mouse, Ampurta and Kultarr as well as special birds such as the Eyrean Grasswren and the Grey Grasswren.
You can help protect Kalamurina and its wildlife. A tax deductible donation to AWC will enable us to undertake rabbit and other feral animal control, carry out biological surveys and improve infrastructure to support land management staff. This is a rare opportunity to protect one of Australia’s great natural icons.
