Editing Cape Arid National Park (section)

==History==
The first European to discover the area was the French Admiral [[Bruni D'Entrecasteaux]] in 1792 and he named it ''Cap Aride''; [[Matthew Flinders]] anglicized the name in 1802 and the park took its name from this feature.

Pioneer [[Pastoral farming|grazier]]s arrived in the area in the 1870s and the ruins of homesteads, dams and buildings as well as gravesites can be found near Pine Hill and Thomas Fishery.

Bay whaling was conducted by Thomas Sherratt at Barrier Anchorage in the 1870s.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Gibbs, Martin | author2=Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology | author3=Gibbs, Martin | title=The shore whalers of Western Australia : historical archaeology of a maritime frontier | publication-date=2010 | publisher=Sydney University Press | isbn=978-1-920899-62-2}} pp.&nbsp;142–3.</ref> John Thomas also seems to have had a bay whaling operation in the 1860s at Thomas's Fishery.

As a result of the [[2015 Esperance bushfires]] up to 90% of the remaining [[Western Ground Parrot]] habitat within the park was burned.<ref name=parrot1>{{cite news|last1=Shine|first1=Rhiannon|title=Fears for rare western ground parrot after Esperance fires destroy 90 per cent of habitat|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/fears-for-rare-western-ground-parrot-after-esperance-fires/6987740|accessdate=4 May 2016|work=ABC News|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=30 November 2015}}</ref><ref name=parrot2>{{cite news|author1=Rhiannon Shine|author2=Sam Tomlin|title=Western ground parrot 'facing extinction' after devastating Esperance bushfires|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-21/western-ground-parrot-on-precipice-of-extinction-expert-says/7105544|accessdate=4 May 2016|work=ABC News|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=22 January 2016}}</ref> Much of the habitat had already been burned by a bushfire in Cape Arid National Park during October of the same year.<ref name=parrot1/> Prior to the fires, there were believed to be only 140 individual parrots living in the wild, and the number was estimated to have been reduced to only 30–40 as a result of the damage caused by the fires.<ref name=parrot1/><ref name=parrot2/> The widespread destruction of dense vegetation the ground-dwelling birds rely on for nesting prompted discussion that the critically endangered parrot could "...&nbsp;become the first bird in at least 200 years to become extinct in Western Australia".<ref name=parrot1/><ref name=parrot2/> Two parrots—a male and a female—were rescued from the Cape Arid fire ground and taken to [[Perth Zoo]] for inclusion in a [[captive breeding]] program, however both birds died in captivity.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jorgensen|first1=Cari|title=90 Percent of Western Ground Parrot Habitat Destroyed By Fire In Australia|url=http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-news/2015/12/03/90-percent-of-western-ground-parrot-habitat-destroyed-by-fire-in-australia-trending.aspx|website=BirdChannel|publisher=I-5 Publishing|accessdate=6 May 2016|date=3 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Shine|first1=Rhiannon|title=Perth Zoo's western ground parrot breeding program suffers setback after death of two birds|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-06/rare-parrots-die-in-captivity/7070996|accessdate=6 May 2016|work=ABC News|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=6 January 2016}}</ref>