16/08/2008 4:00:00 AMIT may be the Tasmanian devil's spotted relation, but this cute creature is one of a handful of native endangered species to call Sutherland Shire home.
Known as a spotted-tail quoll, the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife hopes drawings of this carnivorous Australian marsupial in the Dymocks Golden Paw Awards 2008 will help with its conservation.
"Most threatened species are so rare that we often don't know what they look like,'' said Leonie Gale, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.
Golden Paw is an annual drawing competition for NSW and ACT primary school children to help raise money and awareness to protect native endangered wildlife.
"[The children's] drawings show everyone what our threatened animals look like, and people will recognise them when they see them,'' Ms Gale said. "They can help find our threatened species so we can protect them and their homes.''
Other endangered species found in the shire include grey-headed flying-foxes, red-crowned toadlets, Rosenberg's goannas, little terns, powerful owls and osprey.
Ms Gale said although the loss of these species in one local community such as the shire may not seem significant, if there were few other places where these animals were found, the loss from one community could have a major impact on the survival of an entire species.
Dan Grover, CEO of Dymocks, said that for every drawing entered, Dymocks would donate $1 to the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. The money raised will go towards conservation projects for little penguins.
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