Paruna Sanctuary is a 20 square kilometre nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 in the Avon Valley

Avon River (Western Australia)

The Avon River is a river in Western Australia. It is a tributary of the Swan River totalling 280 kilometres in length, with a catchment area of 125,000 square kilometres.-Catchment area:...

, 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north-east of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 in south-west Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It is in the Avon-Wheatbelt Bioregion and is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is an Australian independent, non-profit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia, principally through the acquisition of extensive areas of land on which to establish conservation reserves . These sanctuaries are...

 (AWC).

History

Paruna Sanctuary consists of several properties consolidated to form a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) corridor between the Walyunga

Walyunga National Park

Walyunga National Park is a national park in Western Australia , 35 km northeast of Perth along the Great Northern Highway.The park is situated just behind the Darling Scarp in the Darling Range spread over a steeply sided valley. The Swan-Avon River runs through the park and the Avon Descent...

 and Avon Valley National Park

Avon Valley National Park

Avon Valley is a national park in Western Australia , located 47 kilometres northeast of Perth. It was named for the Avon River which flows through it. The area is an undulating plateau with the sides of the valley steeply sloping back to the river approximately below...

s. Negotiations during the 1990s culminated in its formal opening in 1998. Since then areas previously cleared have been subject to a rehabilitation program, and walking tracks constructed for public use.

Landscape and climate

Paruna is in the Darling Range, a landscape of hills along a rocky escarpment, with river valleys. The climate is Mediterranean

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 with winter rainfall and dry summers. Average annual rainfall is 700 millimetres (27.6 in).

Ecosystems

Most of the reserve is dominated by Wandoo

Eucalyptus wandoo

Eucalyptus wandoo is a medium-sized tree widely distributed in southwest Western Australia.-Description:It grows as a small to medium-sized tree up to 25 metres in height. It has smooth bark, often in mottled patches of white, light grey, light brown light yellow and pink...

 and Powderbark

Eucalyptus accedens

Powder-barked Wandoo is a eucalypt native to Western Australia. Mature trees are around 15–25 m high with branches high up the trunk....

 woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s, with extensive areas of Heathland and some patches of Jarrah and Marri forest. Flooded Gum

Eucalyptus rudis

Eucalyptus rudis, Flooded gum, is a medium sized tree with rough, dark and light grey bark, however north of Perth its bark is smooth and very similar to Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Leaves are stalked, alternate, ovate to orbicular 12 x 7 cm, slightly discolourous and dull grey-green...

 and paperbark occur along the Avon River.

Fauna

Significant mammal species present are Chuditch and Honey Possum

Honey Possum

The honey possum or tait, its Native Australian name or noolbenger is a tiny Australian marsupial weighing just seven to eleven grams for the male, and eight to sixteen grams for the female—about half the weight of a mouse. Their physical size ranges from a body length of between 6.5 –...

, while an important bird is Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo. In collaboration with CALM, and with an ongoing program to control exotic predators such as Fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

es, various native mammals that would have occurred on Paruna in the past are being successfully reintroduced. These include the Woylie

Woylie

The Woylie , also known as the Brush-tailed Bettong, is a small marsupial that belongs to the genus Bettongia. It is endemic to Australia...

, Quenda, Black-flanked Rock-wallaby

Black-flanked Rock-wallaby

The Black-flanked Rock-wallaby , also known as the Black-footed Rock-wallaby or Warru, is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus Petrogale.-Description:...

 and the Tammar Wallaby

Tammar Wallaby

The Tammar Wallaby , also known as the Dama Wallaby or Darma Wallaby, is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the model species for research on kangaroos and marsupials. It is found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast...

.