Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01712:body:0:p17
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01712
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 49253–52033

mother and father, but a male may move between several burrows of wives and children (McAlpin et al., 2011). At two to three years of age male Tjakura leave home to establish their own burrow and attempt to start a new family. Genetic analysis has shown most Tjakura establish burrows within 4 km of their parents' homes, but dispersals up to 9 km are occasionally recorded (McAlpin 2011).

 Tjakura hibernate in the winter, becoming inactive as night-time (and soil) temperatures cool. In the south of their range hibernation can go from April to September, but in warmer temperatures in the north it may only be 2-3 months.

 When males wake up from hibernation they usually do some burrow maintenance, digging out the burrow entrances. Tjakura then mate early in the season (late September-early October) and females give birth to 1-7 babies around Christmas time. Baby Tjakura are 70 mm from snout to vent when they are born, but grow quickly, reaching about 100 mm before their first hibernation and 140 mm by their second winter (McAlpin 2011).

 Tjakura spend most of the day inside their burrows, becoming most active in the late afternoon when they bask outside the burrow before going out looking for food in the early evening. They may also bask in the sun in the early morning and make short forays from burrow entrances to collect food items. Much of the day and late at night is spent shuffling up and down a tunnel keeping their temperature in a preferred range of about 32°C (Moore et al. 2017). They may also spend time sitting just inside a burrow entrance, waiting to ambush passing prey.

 Tjakura are omnivorous and eat plant material, invertebrates and any vertebrates small enough to be swallowed including geckoes and small mammals. At Parnngurr Tjakura were recorded on camera carrying frogs in their mouths (Parnngurr Rangers 2021). A wide range of invertebrates are eaten including beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers, spiders and centipedes but harvester termites (Drepanotermes spp.) make up the bulk of their diet (McAlpin 1997). Several hundred termites may be eaten in a sitting by a large adult Tjakura during rainy spells when the worker termites are out harvesting spinifex pieces or the alate termites are swarming to begin new colonies. Plant material eaten in good seasons includes bush tomato (Solanum spp.) fruits, parakeelya (Calandrinia spp.) leaves and paper daisy (Leucochrysum stipitatum) flowers (McAlpin 1997).
  Photograph 11. Tjakura are one of the few reptile species in the world that care for their young.

  Source: Birriliburu IPA

  Ecosystem Function of Tjakura
  Tjakura play an important role in the ecological processes and functions of the areas they inhabit.
  Their extensive underground burrows systems provide a safe,