 Sheep were present until around 1981, escapes from prior sheep farming operations.Other animals include common brushtail, ringtail possums, short-beaked echidnas and three species of snake.Maria Island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports significant numbers of endangered swift parrots and forty-spotted pardalotes, over 1% of the world population of Pacific gulls, as well as populations of most of Tasmania's endemic bird species.