WA Wildlife Sanctuaries

West Australian

27-06-2025

They may be blissfully unaware of it but many of Australia's endangered native animals owe their existence and continued welfare to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
Martin Copley, a British-born conservationist and philanthropist who moved to Perth after making his fortune in insurance in the UK, founded the organisation in 1991 when he purchased the Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary here in WA with aim of saving Australia's native native species.
Karakamia covers 268ha in the Jarrah Forest Bioregion near Chidlow about an hour's drive north-east of Perth.
When it was first acquired, it had a limited range of native mammals — but after the establishing a feral-proof fence in 1994 and eradicating predators inside — species such as woylie, quenda, tammar wallaby and brushtail possum were reintroduced and have flourished.
The AWC's mission is to conserve all Australian wildlife and habitats. It's a nonprofit organisation which relies on philanthropists to acquire large tracts of land.
It formed conservation partnerships with First Nations people, private landholders, and governments and has restored more than 50 populations of 20 threatened and locally extinct mammals to 10 sites around the country.
AWC's also works hard to control introduced weeds and large feral herbivores such as camels, buffalo, horses and pigs — and it leads one of the largest ecological fire programs in the country.
Karakamia was the first but AWC have five other wildlife sanctuaries in WA.
+ Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley.
+ Mornington-Marion Downs Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kimberley
+ Faure Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the Shark Bay World Heritage area.
+ Mtt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, about 350 km northeast of Perth.
+ Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary which forms an important wildlife corridor along the Avon River east of Perth.
Conservation is AWC's primary objective but they do welcome visitors to some of their sanctuaries. Access changes from time to time so you will need to check
australianwildlife.org
to find out if you can visit. At the time of writing this, the only two sanctuaries you can visit are Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary and Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary.
The
Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary
in the Avon Valley has several nice walking trails.
Possum Loop is the shortest of the trails (2.3km). It features woodlands, wildflowers, creeks and waterfalls, making it ideal for families, older walkers and those seeking a easy walk.
Quenda Circuit is a 6.5km walk of medium difficulty. It is the most popular trail at Paruna and it offers spectacular views of the Paruna Gorge, natural vegetation and even a historic monument. It is ideal for families, scout and school groups and nature enthusiasts.
Numbat walking track is a 12km walk of medium to hard difficulty, taking about six to nine hours to complete. It combines sections of the Quenda and Possum trails, and offers creek lines, granite outcrops, wildflowers, and powderbark and wandoo forest.
Paruna is open during daytime hours from May 1 to October 31. Visitor numbers are capped to protect the health of the sanctuary and minimise disturbance to wildlife. There's no overnight camping but there are picnic tables and toilets. Access to the sanctuary cost $11 per person and you will need a unique access code to enter, which will be emailed when you have completed your booking.
Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary
about 350km northeast of Perth spans an impressive 131,812ha and supports an extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna.
Its varied landscapes includes rugged ranges and sandplains.
Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary plays a critical role in safeguarding nearly 10 per cent of Australia's nationally threatened mammals. It is the site of Australia's most ambitious
mammal restoration project
, with 10 species reintroduced to its 7838ha feral predator-free area. the largest cat and fox-free area in mainland Western Australia.
The sanctuary also protects 60 acacia species, including the rare and threatened Gibson and Ninghan wattles, which were established in an herbivore-free area in partnership with the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Visitors can enjoy self-guided drivers and walks via carefully marked drives and walking trails.
Mt Gibson Quartz Ridge campground is open for bookings between May 1 and 30 September and offers unpowered caravan/campervan and tent sites. Facilities include a compost toilet, a simple camp kitchen with barbecues, and a central fire pit with supplied wood. Visitors must bring their own water, fuel, and must manage their waste.
The road to access the campsite is only suitable for 4WD vehicles and visitor numbers are capped at a maximum of and eight vehicles and 25 people at any one time.
It costs $20 per adult and $10 per night for children and all proceeds support AWC's conservation work.
The Mornington Wilderness Camp at
Mornington-Marion Downs Wildlife Sanctuary
remains closed after it was impacted by the record high floods in 2023 and a spokesperson says there is no estimated reopening date for the camp at the moment.
As mentioned earlier AWC is a nonprofit organisation and if you want to donate to this worthy cause visit
australianwildlife.org
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is using AI technology to perfect its SmartGate which is designed to keep their fenced off areas predator free.
The AWC manages a network of nine of these safe havens that play a critical role in protecting threatened wildlife from predation by introduced cats and foxes, who are the primary drivers of native mammal extinctions and ongoing declines in Australia.
A prototype of the SmartGate has been trialled at AWC's
Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary
since September 2024.
A spokesperson explains: 'This is a double-gated enclosed tunnel that allows native species to move from one side of a feral predator-free fenced area to the other.
'The gate was deployed in a fenced pen within Karakamia's 286ha feral predator-free fenced area, with woylies as the target species.'