THEY say nature heals itself, and that is certainly taking place right now in New South Wales’ Far West.
Floodwaters in Menindee Lakes are seeing long-absent native species return.
The floodwaters, enough to fill Sydney Harbour twice, have transformed the Lakes from a vast, dry expanse of cracked dirt into a freshwater oasis in the middle of the Outback.
Dozens of species, such as tiny, red-capped plovers, pelicans, swans, emus and kangaroos, are benefiting, while some native bird species, whose numbers have steadily diminished, are beginning to breed once again.
The water has also caused yabbies, in a deep sleep for years underground, to re-awaken and climb to the surface.
It is a far cry from the mass fish deaths reported in 2019 along the Darling River, downstream of the Lakes.