Wasur National Park, Irian Jaya, Indonesia Photograph by © WWF-Canon/John RATCLIFFE   Southeastern Asia: Southern portion of the island of New Guinea Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   10,300 square miles (26,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of Vermont and Rhode Island combined Relatively Stable/Intact

· Kookaburras on the Fly
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Kookaburras on the Fly

This ecoregion is different from the many others you can find on the island of New Guinea. While other ecoregions there contain moist, lush rain forests, this ecoregion has dry grasslands and savannas. A variety of animals can be found here, including an endemic species of kookaburra, a bird made famous in a children’s song.

Special Features

The Trans Fly Savanna and Grasslands ecoregion is located along the southern coast of New Guinea and resembles the landscape of northern Australia. Primarily composed of grasslands, this ecoregion also contains significant tracts of savanna and dry evergreen forest. Dominant trees in the savannas include Eucalyptus, Albizzia, and Melaleuca species. Fire is common, with the savanna often burning at the end of the dry season.

	Kookaburras develop tight family units. When young birds become fledglings, instead of flying off to mate and stake out new territory, they stick around the nest and help their parents tend to the next round of babies.

Wild Side

Although it is a member of the kingfisher family, this ecoregion’s spangled kookaburra, like other kookaburras, does not catch fish. However, it does eat mice, lizards, and small birds. Such food is plentiful in the Trans Fly grasslands. This ecoregion is home to 43 mammals, including four small marsupials whose ranges fall mostly or completely within this ecoregion: the Papuan planigale, bronze quoll, chestnut dunnart, and dusky pademelon. This region is also critical habitat for several species of endemic amphibians and reptiles, including the pitted turtle. The kookaburra isn’t the only bird found here; other endemic or near-endemic species include the little paradise-kingfisher, the Fly River grassbird, and two species of munias.

Cause for Concern

More than 90 percent of this ecoregion is still intact. However, increased hunting, wildlife trade, agricultural development, and unsustainable forestry could pose threats in certain areas. The introduction of the non-native rusa deer has led to the destruction of grasslands. Furthermore, no survey has been conducted to determine whether the ecoregion’s existing protected areas adequately cover all habitats that are found here.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.