WORK is continuing to help protect one of the territory’s most well-known bird species, the gang-gang cockatoo.

The ACT government will co-ordinate and lead a national working group set up to deliver projects to help conserve the Gang-gang cockatoo.

The gang-gang cockatoo, is the animal emblem of the ACT. Populations of the bird suffered enormously during 2019-2020 bushfires, with 18 per cent of their habitat destroyed.

“While we consider the ACT to be a strong-hold for the species, preliminary results from collaborative research between the Australian National University and ACT Government indicate there may be fewer gang-gangs in Canberra than was previously believed,” said ACT environment minister Rebecca Vassarotti.

“Although the causes of decline are not well understood, the primary threats to the Gang-gang Cockatoo include habitat loss and the impacts of climate change, which destroy mature trees and alter the availability of key foraging resources.”

Populations of gang-gangs are also found well beyond the territory.

The federally funded national working group will monitor gang-gang numbers within the ACT, Blue Mountains, and the NSW south-east coast.

The working group consists of stakeholders from both local and state governments, community and research institutions, and land management agencies.