How Gippsland’s big wriggler wormed its way into my heart in 2025

Of the hundreds of stories I’ve covered this year, one of my favourites was about Gippsland’s strangest living creature - the Gippsland Giant Earthworm.

The rare invertebrate unique to Gippsland is recognised as a threatened species and has had a lot of attention over the years, including a visit from David Attenborough.

In May a census was launched by South Gippsland, Bass Coast and Latrobe Catchment Landcare Networks to try to figure out the population and habitat size of the threatened worms.

The census asked local farmers to keep an eye out for the Gippsland Giant Earthworm, and an ear out for the gurgling sounds the worms make when they’re slithering across the land.

For the story I talked to Dr Beverley van Praagh, who has been studying the worm for over 40 years.

van Praagh told me research methods to observe the worm have changed dramatically since she began studying them in the early 1980s. 

“Back then they weren't protected, so we were often digging them up,” she said. “Now we don't pick them up at all unless there's a real reason for it.”

Praagh said the census was asking local farmers to listen for a sound like water running out of a bath drain and report it online.

“The gurgling suction sound is made because their burrows are quite wet, and they move quickly from one pocket to another.”

To me, this story represents one of the many reasons why I love working as a journalist and telling stories. I was able to learn about this local legend of the soil, and talk to a leading expert, who exuded such joy when discussing the huge worm.  

The census is still ongoing and I’m very much looking forward to reporting on the results.