They regularly burnt the grasses where the dragon lived, managing the land carefully and skilfully to promote a sustainable food supply (including perhaps the occasional dragon). ![]() ![]() Prior to the arrival of European settlers, and perhaps for more than 20,000 years, the Ngarigo nation were the custodians of the Monaro grasslands. Open grasslands, like those of Narrawallee, have been overgrazed by sheep and cattle, and damaged by ploughing and other farming and building activities. The dragons’ numbers have been severely impacted by habitat damage and loss. Whole local populations can suddenly disappear. These egg beds can dry out or be disturbed by animal hooves, machines or predatory insects like spiders. It lays only three to six eggs once a year, just under the ground where the sun can warm them. It is small, weighing between 6 and 9 grams, and has a very short lifespan. The Monaro grassland earless dragon ( Tympanocryptis osbornei or ‘Osborne’s hidden-ear dragon’) is one of Australia’s rarest reptiles. ![]()
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