The great desert skink, known to Anangu people as tjakura, was once a familiar sight across inland Australia. Today only an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 survive at around 20 known sites, but a growing alliance of Indigenous rangers is working to turn that around, ABC News reports.
As many as 20 ranger groups from the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia now look after the lizard across a range of some 770,000 square kilometres, and have carried out national surveys every year since 2023. Near Uluru, the Tjakura Rangers of Mutitjulu, who take their name from the skink, have found burrows in the Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area.
The rangers use fire management, remove feral predators and keep watch on burrows with camera traps, blending traditional knowledge with modern science. The skinks themselves are remarkably sociable: several generations share a single burrow system, complete with a communal toilet. Another survey in 2027 will show how much the work is paying off.
Source: ABC News