Elizabeth O’Donoghue is the owner of Corymbia Wildlife Sanctuary, a property situated in Mallacoota, Victoria. The property has native bushland and a fenced wildlife shelter, two-storey mudbrick house, sheds, netted orchards and an enclosed vegetable garden. As the surrounding area is becoming more suburban and losing existing habitat, Elizabeth intends to keep the corridor open for wildlife to travel from the forest beyond a nearby development to the Shady Gully forest. Elizabeth previously ran a wildlife shelter for over 12 years, gaining experience through education and practice and developing a substantial understanding of wildlife needs. She also liaises with Friends of Mallacoota indigenous nursery. The property is also part of the Land for Wildlife program.
Corymbia Wildlife Sanctuary spans 0.52 hectares across dry schlerophyll forest and features native flora species such as bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), cherry ballart (Exocarpos cupressiformis), Acacia spp. including prickly moses (Acacia ulicifolia), kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), spear grasses (Austrostipa sp.), and other native grasses, native violet (Viola hederacea),heaths (Epacris sp.), native orchids, paper daisies (Xerochrysum sp.), billy buttons (Craspedia sp.), fringe lily (Thysanotus tuberosus), milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata), she-oaks (Casuarina sp.) and hakeas (Hakea sp.).
An extensive and growing number of wildlife is found at Corymbia Wildlife Sanctuary, including eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), red-necked wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus), bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), bandicoots, bush rats (Rattus fuscipes), antechinus (Antechinus sp.), grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus), microbats (various species), yellow-bellied gliders (Petaurus australis), sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), bronzewing pigeons (Phaps chalcoptera), white-headed pigeons (Columba leucomela), wonga pigeons (Leucosarcia melanoleuca), satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla), king parrots (Alisterus scapularis), crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), rainbow lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus), currawongs (Strepera sp.), choughs (Corcorax sp.), butcherbirds (Cracticus sp.), blue wrens (Malurus sp.), scrub wrens (Sericornis sp.), firetails (Stagonopleura sp.), eastern yellow robins (Eopsaltria australis), golden whistlers (Pachycephala pectoralis), grey shrike-thrushes (Colluricincla harmonica), goshawks (Tachyspiza sp.), magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae), yellow-tailed black-cockatoos (Zanda funerea), whistling kites (Haliastur sphenurus), and other raptors, red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus), eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis), tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus), blue-tongued lizards (Tiliqua scincoides), lace monitors (Varanus varius), and other lizards and skinks, green and golden bell frogs (Litoria aurea), Peron’s tree frogs (Litoria peronii), common eastern froglet (Crinia signifera), and pobblebonk frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii) as well as a large variety of spiders, moths, insects, butterflies and invertebrates.
