After The Fires

The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, known as Black Summer, was one of the most intense and devastating fire seasons in Australian history. It was a period marked by unusually large, intense, and long-lasting bushfires that ravaged many parts of the country.

The fires burned an estimated 24.3 million hectares (243,000 square kilometers), including Bezzants Lease, a conservation reserve owned and managed by the South Endeavour Trust. I was part of the first team to arrive after the fires, tasked with conducting a rapid fauna survey to assess the damage and understand what had been lost.

While the destruction was overwhelming, several nights of camera trapping yielded a hopeful discovery: the endangered spotted-tail quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), the largest marsupial carnivore on mainland Australia, was still present.