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The Red Centre of Australia is a harsh and inhospitable place. A combination of fierce heat, drought and fire would all seem to make it hard for anything to survive here. Yet in these deserts, an amazing diversity of wildlife thrives. Reptiles, including many species of lizards, abound, and there are spiders, scorpions and cockroaches too. Nature here is largely in miniature. Among the most numerous inhabitants are the many species of ants and termites. In the desert rain falls only very rarely. When it does, flowers bloom and for a brief time, rivers flow again. Chasms and gorges hold more permanent water, and here an unusual assortment of plants and animals testifies to Australia's wetter past. Today, many of the animals of the Red Centre are facing serious threats. Introduced foxes and cats are super-efficient hunters, while alien herbivores such as camels and cattle are destroying the vegetation which the native wildlife depends on. Some native animals, like the Bilby and the Mala, form important links in Aboriginal culture, as dreamtrails, or songlines. But if the current attempts to save these and other creatures should fail, there is a real danger that more will join the list of animals which have already become lost to the deserts of Central Australia forever.

This film was first broadcast: 19 Mar 2005

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