A Critical Refuge for the Spectacled Flying-fox

The Spectacled Flying-fox is in serious decline. Population numbers dropped from an estimated 214,750 in 2005 to just 92,880 by 2014. Climate change, extreme heat, and habitat loss have pushed this keystone species to the brink. They are now listed as Endangered and we knew urgent action was required.

In 2022, Gondwana Rainforest Trust partnered with fellow non-profit South Endeavour Trust to purchase the Maalan Cloud Forest property on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. This high altitude landscape offers vital climate refuge, not only for Flying-foxes, but also for Cassowaries, Quolls, Tree-kangaroos and more.

First, the land was secured. Gondwana Rainforest Trust and South Endeavour Trust co-funded the purchase of the property with settlement occurring in January 2023. 

Now, large-scale revegetation is underway. South Endeavour Trust has obtained finance from the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund to enable the planting 120,000 trees. 

This blog shares an update on that work and how a once-cleared paddock is being transformed into thriving rainforest.

Spectacled Flying-fox. Image: Steven Nowakowski

Maalan Cloud Forest: Restoration Update

Restoration is now underway at Maalan Cloud Forest, a high-altitude property in Far North Queensland owned and managed by our project partners, South Endeavor Trust. 

We supported the purchase of Maalan Cloud Forest to help protect the remnant rainforest and to enable restoration of this ecologically significant landscape. Of the 83 hectares, 35 hectares were cleared for grazing and are now being revegetated as part of a long-term restoration effort.

The Maalan Cloud Forest property is immediately adjacent to a major colony of the Spectacled Flying-fox and revegetation will provide habitat for the colony to expand.

This revegetation aims to complete a wildlife corridor that reconnects two otherwise fragmented sections of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. In total, 120,000 trees will be planted across the former pasture over six years. A major step toward ecological recovery.

An application to have the property declared as a Nature Refuge first requires the revegetation to be completed. 

View of revegetation at Maalan Cloud Forest.

A Rainforest of National Significance

Highlighting the importance of this habitat type, a formal nomination has been submitted to the Australian Government to have high-altitude cloud forests listed as Endangered Ecological Communities under the EPBC Act — a vital step for long-term protection.

In December 2024, Gondwana Rainforest Trust Founder Kelvin Davies and Conservation Program Manager James Barrie visited Maalan Cloud Forest to assess the progress. They confirmed that all internal fencing on the property has been removed, eliminating barbed wire, a hazard for flying species such as the Spectacled Flying-fox, and allowing wildlife like the Southern Cassowary to move safely through the landscape.

Contractors preparing the site for tree planting. 

Supporting Threatened Species

The remnant rainforest at Maalan Cloud Forest already provides critical habitat for a wide range of threatened species, including:

• Spectacled Flying-fox

• Spotted-tail Quoll

• Southern Cassowary

• Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo

• Lemuroid Ringtail Possum

• Herbert River Ringtail Possum

• Golden Bowerbird

• Tooth-billed Bowerbird

While it’s too early for these animals to inhabit the newly restored areas, they are expected to return as the canopy develops and the ecosystem matures — a powerful indicator of a healthy, functioning forest.

Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo. Image: Steven Nowakowski

Looking Ahead

Tree by tree, habitat is being rebuilt, rainforest reconnected, and future is being created where threatened wildlife can thrive.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and our project partners at South Endeavour Trust.

Learn more about the Maalan Cloud Forest project here.