tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/kangaroo-island-dunnart-89845/articlesKangaroo Island dunnart – The Conversation2022-06-16T19:54:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1851332022-06-16T19:54:31Z2022-06-16T19:54:31ZThis critically endangered marsupial survived a bushfire – then along came the feral cats<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469124/original/file-20220616-13059-uanvqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=252%2C126%2C2224%2C1660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF Australia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 pushed a host of threatened species closer to extinction, including the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart. And as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11383-6">our research</a> released today shows, feral cats posed a second lethal threat to the species in the weeks after the disaster.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/species/20-mammals-by-2020/kangaroo-island-dunnart">Kangaroo Island dunnart</a> is a mouse-sized marsupial found only on the western end of the island. Bushfires in January 2020 burnt more than 98% of its habitat. The dunnart population was thought to be about 500 before the fire; its current numbers are being surveyed but are thought to have since declined even further.</p>
<p>Cat predation has caused the extinction or near-extinction of several native species around the globe. Our results confirm for the first time that feral cats prey on the dunnart and did so directly after the bushfires.</p>
<p>The findings underscore the importance of acting immediately to protect threatened species from predators in the wake of catastrophic natural events.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="landscape turned to ash after fire" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469130/original/file-20220616-21-4thjt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Kangaroo Island fires burnt 98% of dunnart habitat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Mariuz/AAP</span></span>
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<h2>Analysing feral cat diets</h2>
<p>Before the Black Summer fires, the Kangaroo Island dunnart’s habitat was fragmented due to land clearing and other pressures. Feral cats on the island were also suspected of contributing to the species decline, but this had not been proven.</p>
<p>A federally funded feral cat eradication program has been in place since 2015, and aims to make Kangaroo Island free of feral cats by 2030. </p>
<p>A 2020 <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/WR19137">study</a> estimated there were between 1,000 and 2,300 feral cats on Kangaroo Island. We set out to determine whether cats threatened the dunnart.</p>
<p>We analysed the diet of feral cats humanely euthanised immediately after the 2019 bushfire. We accessed the stomach contents and digestive tracts of 86 cats captured between February and August 2020. </p>
<p>The cats were not killed for our study, but as part of the national feral cat control program and were euthanised in accordance with South Australia animal welfare laws. They were caught in unburnt areas where dunnarts and other species that survived the fire would likely have sought refuge.</p>
<p>We identified 263 distinct prey items in the cats’ stomachs and digestive tracts. They comprised:</p>
<ul>
<li>195 mammals</li>
<li>46 birds</li>
<li>10 reptiles</li>
<li>12 arthropods (invertebrates such as beetles).</li>
</ul>
<p>Among them, the introduced house mouse represented the most significant proportion, being part of the diet for 47 cats. </p>
<p>We found the remains of eight Kangaroo Island dunnarts in seven different cats. Three dunnarts were readily identifiable as they were nearly whole carcasses. Five more were identified based on hair features. </p>
<p>We observed dunnart tissue in both the stomach and large intestine of one cat, suggesting it had recently preyed on at least two individuals.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-kangaroo-island-to-mallacoota-citizen-scientists-proved-vital-to-australias-bushfire-recovery-48230">From Kangaroo Island to Mallacoota, citizen scientists proved vital to Australia's bushfire recovery</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="small furry animal in leaves" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469125/original/file-20220616-21-8d53wj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Researchers found the remains of eight dunnarts in seven different cats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WWF</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Our results confirm for the first time that feral cats prey on Kangaroo Island dunnarts and were efficient hunters of this species directly after the fires.</p>
<p>Our results provides only a small snapshot of what the feral cat had eaten. That’s because once the prey is fully digested (between 27 and 36 hours after being caught) we cannot analyse it. So the cats may well have recently consumed more prey than we could identify.</p>
<p>Safe to say, the cats present a substantial threat to the dunnart. We also found the remains of the endangered southern brown bandicoot in a male cat’s stomach. This endangered species is likely the last out of eight native bandicoot species still living in the wild in South Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-kangaroo-island-dunnart-20841">Australian endangered species: Kangaroo Island Dunnart</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="cat carries animal in mouth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469126/original/file-20220616-11875-57qce4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cat predation has caused the extinction or near-extinction of several native species around the globe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Tasmania</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Saving the most vulnerable</h2>
<p>The Kangaroo Island dunnart is emblematic of challenges faced by threatened species across the world – especially those confined to increasingly fragmented habitats, coping with the catastrophic consequences of climate change and preyed on by introduced species. </p>
<p>Species already compromised can easily slide into extinction after disasters such as the Black Summer fires – the likes of which are predicted to become more frequent as the world warms and dries. </p>
<p>After such events, we must act immediately to protect vulnerable species from invasive predators. These measures can mean the difference between survival and extinction.</p>
<p>But prevention is better than cure, and we should not wait until after a catastrophic event to protect our most threatened fauna.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/im-searching-firegrounds-for-surviving-kangaroo-island-micro-trapdoor-spiders-6-months-on-im-yet-to-find-any-139556">I'm searching firegrounds for surviving Kangaroo Island Micro-trapdoor spiders. 6 months on, I'm yet to find any</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louis Lignereux receives funding from Human Frontier Science Programme (Grant RGP0062/2018) </span></em></p>The findings underscore the importance of acting immediately to protect threatened species from predators in the wake of catastrophic natural events.Louis Lignereux, Researcher, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1526792021-01-13T00:15:45Z2021-01-13T00:15:45ZEnjoy them while you can? The ecotourism challenge facing Australia’s favourite islands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378177/original/file-20210112-21-1nnaesh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C4071%2C2193&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Greg Brave/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I fell for Kangaroo Island from my first visit. I recall standing on a headland on the island’s southern coast, near Remarkable Rocks (a popular tourist site), and being awestruck by the Southern Ocean.</p>
<p>The island (Australia’s third-largest after Tasmania and Melville Island) is one of 16 designated <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/topics/national-parks/national-landscapes-0#:%7E:text=Australia's%20National%20Landscapes%20Program%20identified,Landscapes%20and%20their%20surrounding%20regions">National Landscapes</a> and arguably South Australia’s greatest tourism treasure. Its protected areas (notably Flinders Chase National Park) are home to rare and endangered marsupials and birds.</p>
<p>A year ago, in Australia’s “Black Summer”, bushfires ravaged more than half the island (about 211,000 hectares). Those fires underscored the threat to this and other iconic island destinations. </p>
<p>Both directly and indirectly, humans are endangering these fragile ecosystems through unsustainable development and human-caused climate change. </p>
<p>The most ironic threat is from unsustainable tourism. These islands attract millions of visitors a year keen to experience their natural wonders. Yet often this very “ecotourism” is contributing to their degradation.</p>
<p>How to do better? </p>
<p>Last October I took part in a workshop at which Kangaroo Island’s tourism operators discussed how to do so. 2020 was a difficult year for them, first with the fires, then with the COVID-19 pandemic. But in that adversity they also saw the opportunity to reset “business as usual” and come back better, creating an industry not harming its core asset.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-global-travel-as-we-know-it-an-opportunity-for-sustainable-tourism-133783">The end of global travel as we know it: an opportunity for sustainable tourism</a>
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<p>A range of ideas came out of our talks applicable to all our island destinations. But there was one key point. Ecotourism should be more than fleeting feel-good experiences. It should not be a “value extraction” but a “values education”, inspiring visitors to go home and live more eco-consciously.</p>
<h2>Macquarie island</h2>
<p>The paradox of ecotourism is perhaps best exemplified by Australia’s least visited island destination – Macquarie Island, about 1,500 km south-east of Hobart, halfway between New Zealand and the Antarctica.</p>
<p>Just 1,500 tourists a year, rather than hundreds of thousands, are permitted by the <a href="https://parks.tas.gov.au/Documents/2020-2021%20Macquarie%20Island%20Commercial%20Educational%20Tourist%20Visits%20Criteria.pdf">Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service</a> to visit. The island has no hotels, restaurants or souvenir shops. The only buildings are those of the Macquarie Island Station research base and a few isolated <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations/macquarie-island/living/field-huts/">field huts</a> for scientists. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The Macquarie Island Research Base." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378221/original/file-20210112-13-pa1lvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Macquarie Island Research Base.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dale Lorna Jacobsen/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tourists must be content with coming ashore for the day from the 18 small cruise ships that ply these waters in summer. The only hospitality is the traditional station offering of <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/stations/macquarie-island/2017/this-week-at-macquarie-island-15-december-2017/">tea and scones</a>.</p>
<p>But what tourists do get is a unique experience. Macquarie is <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629">World Heritage listed</a> as the only island made entirely from the earth’s mantle. It also teems with wildlife – multiple species of penguins and seals in their tens of thousands, and birds in their millions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Royal Penguins and Southern Elephant Seals at Sandy Bay, Macquarie Island." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378173/original/file-20210112-19-5bzgf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Royal Penguins and Southern Elephant Seals at Sandy Bay, Macquarie Island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janelle Lugge/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>It’s about as pure an ecotourism experience you can have (if you can afford it). Even so, it still takes resources to get there, including the burning of fossil fuels, contributing to the global warming that is the greatest threat to the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629/">environmental integrity</a> of Macquarie Island (and other island ecosystems). </p>
<p>However, the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service does at least expect cruise ship operators to “demonstrate their capacity to deliver desirable outcomes” <a href="https://parks.tas.gov.au/Documents/2020-2021%20Macquarie%20Island%20Commercial%20Educational%20Tourist%20Visits%20Criteria.pdf">on criteria</a> including minimisation of environmental impacts and communicating to tourists “messages about the natural and cultural values of the island”, including the role they play in its preservation.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-kangaroo-island-to-the-great-barrier-reef-the-paradox-that-is-luxury-ecotourism-113044">From Kangaroo Island to the Great Barrier Reef, the paradox that is luxury ecotourism</a>
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<h2>K'gari (Fraser island)</h2>
<p>Communicating such messages is something that certainly needs improvement on another <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/630">World Heritage listed island</a> – K'gari (commonly known as Fraser island), the world’s largest sand island.</p>
<p>About 250 km north of Brisbane, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, the island draws many hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to its beaches, woodlands and rainforests. (There are no recent public statistics on island visitor numbers but in 2017-18 the Fraser Coast region attracted 1,515,000 visitors.)</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rainforest on K'gari." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378196/original/file-20210112-17-ud9h27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rainforest on K'gari.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco Saracco/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Once the island’s resources were mined and logged. Tourism was meant to be much less exploitative. But a range of organisations including the International Union for Conservation of Nature have highlighted the pressure <a href="https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/explore-sites/wdpaid/67730">tourist numbers</a> (along with their vehicles and infrastructure) are placing on K'gari’s landscapes and wildlife.</p>
<p>Communicating to all those visitors the role they play in the island’s preservation appears to be failing. The bushfires that burnt half the island (about 165,500 hectares) over nine weeks between October and December last year allegedly resulted from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/22/four-charged-over-fire-that-ravaged-australias-fraser-island">an illegal camp fire</a>. </p>
<p>Headline-grabbing attacks by the island’s residents dingos – such as in April 2019 when a toddler was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/19/toddler-rescued-after-dingo-drags-him-from-fraser-island-campsite">dragged from a campervan</a> – have also been credited to rampant irresponsible tourist behaviour (feeding dingoes to get better photos, for example). </p>
<p>Indigenous elders, <a href="https://www.accomnews.com.au/2019/04/cash-cow-for-mass-tourism-fraser-island-attack-blamed-on-mismanagement/">conservationists</a> and <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/fraser-island-dingoes-and-tourists-will-never-mix/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CMost%20tourists%20visiting%20Fraser%20hope,dingo%20is%20also%20a%20predator.">scientists</a> have all pointed to the problem of a mass-tourism model that doesn’t put enough emphasis on educating visitors about the environment and their responsibilities. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-kgari-fraser-island-bushfire-is-causing-catastrophic-damage-what-can-we-expect-when-its-all-over-151664">The K'gari-Fraser Island bushfire is causing catastrophic damage. What can we expect when it's all over?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Rottnest Island</h2>
<p>One of our proposals for Kangaroo Island is to reduce the impact of motor vehicles through encouraging more extended walking and cycling experiences.</p>
<p>The value of sustainable transport as the foundation for ecotourism is demonstrated by Rottnest Island, 20 km off the coast of Perth. </p>
<p>The entire island is managed as an A-Class Nature Reserve. Apart from service vehicles and shuttle buses, it is <a href="https://interactivepdf.uniflip.com/2/81140/1110146/pub/html5.html#page/1">car-free</a>. You can hire a bike or bring your own to get around the island (11 km long and 4.5 km wide). Or simply walk.</p>
<p>The absence of traffic makes a Rottnest holiday a distinctly more relaxed experience. It’s a fair example of <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-642-28036-8_149">slow tourism</a>; and, of course, it is also good for the island’s world famous <a href="https://www.australia.com/en/things-to-do/local-recommendations/how-to-get-the-perfect-quokka-photo.html">quokkas</a>, which co-exist with close to <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2019/07/Another-new-record-for-Rottnest-visitors-to-WA-reach-all-time-high.aspx">800,000 visitors a year</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378170/original/file-20210111-23-15lpa7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rottnest island has the world’s only sizeable population of quokkas. There are 10,000 to 12,000 quokkas on the island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grakhantsev Nikolai/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/before-and-after-4-new-graphics-show-the-recovery-from-last-summers-bushfire-devastation-149073">Before and after: 4 new graphics show the recovery from last summer's bushfire devastation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Before they are gone</h2>
<p>Given a little space, nature is resilient. </p>
<p>After Kangaroo Island’s bushfires a year ago, for example, it was feared a number of endangered species had finally been driven to extinction. </p>
<p>But in two of 2020’s few good news stories, scientists found critically endangered <a href="https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/6731387/ki-dunnarts-found-at-new-site-at-de-mole-river/">Kangaroo Island dunnarts</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-06/little-pygmy-possum-found-on-kangaroo-island/12954912">little pygmy possums</a> – the world’s smallest marsupial – had survived.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kangaroo Island pygmy possum." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378176/original/file-20210112-15-cx9prf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kangaroo Island pygmy possum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashlee Benc/Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But we can’t take that resilience for granted if we keep putting pressure on these fragile ecosystems. We need a better approach to ensure ecotourism isn’t about enjoying these natural wonders before they are gone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Freya Higgins-Desbiolles is an ordinary member of Kangaroo Island Eco-Action, a non-government organisation supporting environmental conservation on Kangaroo Island.</span></em></p>Australia’s island destinations attract millions of visitors a year. We need a better approach to ecotourism to protect their natural assets.Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1412012020-07-13T20:03:52Z2020-07-13T20:03:52ZFire-ravaged Kangaroo Island is teeming with feral cats. It’s bad news for this little marsupial<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347027/original/file-20200713-30-1lod1f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C22%2C2982%2C1971&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Supplied by WWF-Australia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I visited Kangaroo Island for the first time after the summer bushfires, I thought I knew what to expect. But what really hit me was the scale. </p>
<p>The wild western end of the island, once a vast mallee woodland peppered with wildflowers and mobs of roaming roos, had been completely erased. An immense dune field covered with sharp blackened sticks now stretched beyond the horizon, to the sea, hollow and quiet.</p>
<p>While fire is a fundamental process in many Australian ecosystems, the size and severity of this fire was extreme, and the impacts on the island’s wildlife has been immense.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-bushfires-how-are-the-plant-and-animal-survivors-6-months-on-we-mapped-their-recovery-142551">Summer bushfires: how are the plant and animal survivors 6 months on? We mapped their recovery</a>
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<p>For the many threatened species on Kangaroo Island, such as the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart, their fight for survival still isn’t over. <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR19137">High numbers of feral cats</a> roaming the landscape now pose a huge threat to their persistence, with little vegetation left within the fire scar to provide cover for wildlife. </p>
<p>In fact, our recent research found there are, on average, almost <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR19137">double the number of cats</a> per square kilometre on Kangaroo Island than on the mainland.</p>
<h2>The scale of the fires</h2>
<p>Kangaroo Island is uniquely positioned, home to wildlife native to both eastern and western Australia. It protects nationally threatened species, such as the glossy black-cockatoo, the pygmy copperhead, Rosenberg’s goanna and the Kangaroo Island dunnart.</p>
<p>The recent bushfires on Kangaroo Island were the largest ever recorded there, destroying swathes of habitat. Over a period of 49 days the fire burnt 211,255 hectares, impacting almost <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/world/australia/kangaroo-island-fire.html">half of the island</a>, particularly the western and central regions. </p>
<p>For the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart, the fires burnt <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-bushfires-how-are-the-plant-and-animal-survivors-6-months-on-we-mapped-their-recovery-142551">approximately 95%</a> of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333446628_The_Kangaroo_Island_dunnart_distribution_status_and_effective_monitoring_methods">species’ known habitat</a> and left them on the brink of extinction.</p>
<h2>Dunnarts face extinction</h2>
<p>The Kangaroo Island dunnart is a small carnivorous marsupial weighing about 20 grams, with soft sooty fur and dark eyes. The species eats mainly insects, and shelters in hollow logs and in the skirts of grass trees. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZXwDTe6OWA0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Even prior to the fire the species was considered likely to become extinct in the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/PC/pdf/PC18006">next 20 years</a>. Despite extensive survey efforts, the dunnart had only been seen at 19 sites on Kangaroo Island between 1990 and 2019. </p>
<p>Our own survey work between 2017 and 2018 confirmed the persistence of the dunnart at just <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.4">six sites in the national park</a>, with Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife detecting several additional records on private land. All sites were in the western half of the island where the recent fires burned. </p>
<p>Many dunnarts are likely to have died in the fire itself, but individuals that survived are left extremely vulnerable to starvation and feral cat predation. </p>
<h2>Cats roaming the island in big numbers</h2>
<p>Between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320716309223#:%7E:text=Graphical%20abstract,like%20towns%20and%20intensive%20farms.">two and six million</a> feral cats are estimated to live in Australia, and collectively kill more than <a href="https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/1.1.2%20cat%20impacts%20findings%20factsheet_V7.pdf">three billion animals</a> per year.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-let-them-out-15-ways-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy-138716">Don't let them out: 15 ways to keep your indoor cat happy</a>
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<hr>
<p>The problem is so large, a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/feralanddomesticcats">parliamentary inquiry</a> is, for the first time in 30 years, investigating the impact of feral and domestic cats to native wildlife.</p>
<p>What’s more, in some areas on Kangaroo Island where the availability of animal carcasses is high, the density of feral cats is more than ten times as high as mainland estimates. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347030/original/file-20200713-50-r6lm3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are twice as many cats per square kilometre on Kangaroo Island than on mainland Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>A high cat density poses a formidable threat to wildlife survival during the post-fire period, because cats will sometimes travel large distances to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep22559">hunt within recent fire scars</a>. Research is underway on the island to examine exactly how the fires have changed cat densities and hunting behaviour in and around burnt areas.</p>
<h2>How to control feral cats</h2>
<p>Controlling feral cats is one of the biggest challenges in Australian conservation. Cats are cryptic and cautious, hard to find, see, trap and remove. </p>
<p>Despite the challenge, a large-scale feral cat eradication is underway on Kangaroo Island. This is the largest island on which cat eradication has ever been attempted, and the project will take years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/one-cat-one-year-110-native-animals-lock-up-your-pet-its-a-killing-machine-138412">One cat, one year, 110 native animals: lock up your pet, it's a killing machine</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the meantime, feral cats are being controlled around the last refuges for Kangaroo Island dunnarts. There are multiple methods for this including shooting and cage trapping, but in remote areas that are hard to access, poison-baiting is likely to be an effective, long-term strategy.</p>
<p>Most feral cat baits are meat-based, but our research shows possums and bush rats are still <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR19056">likely to consume them</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, researchers have worked for many years on strategies to minimise the potential impacts of feral cat baits on native wildlife. For example, the poison can be delivered within a hard plastic pellet, inside the meat bait. </p>
<p>Field trials have indicated that while cats swallow portions of this bait whole, ingesting the pellet, most native wildlife will chew around and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107788">discard the pellet</a>. </p>
<h2>Hope emerges after huge survey effort</h2>
<p>Despite the gravity of the risk to Kangaroo Island wildlife, there is hope. A huge, dedicated and effective survey effort by both government and non-government organisations has resulted in the detection of Kangaroo Island dunnarts at more than 22 sites. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C10%2C1446%2C946&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C10%2C1446%2C946&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347023/original/file-20200713-50-3bq0bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kangaroo Island dunnarts have been spotted in devastated parts of the landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jody Gates</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>These small populations have been found mostly within patches of unburnt vegetation, but also – almost unbelievably – in areas that have been completely burnt. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jewel-of-nature-scientists-fight-to-save-a-glittering-green-bee-after-the-summer-fires-139555">'Jewel of nature': scientists fight to save a glittering green bee after the summer fires</a>
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<p>Many of these populations appear to be very small and isolated. And now, more than ever, they’re extremely vulnerable. Targeted cat control and/or protection of vulnerable populations with exclusion fencing may be the only way to prevent their extinction. </p>
<p>By controlling cats, we can help native species like the Kangaroo Island dunnart get through this difficult time, and continue to fulfil their place in that wild landscape for years to come.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Paul Jennings, Pat Hodgens, Heidi Groffen, James Smith and Trish Mooney, for their generous contributions to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141201/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosemary Hohnen counsults for the South Australian Department of Environment and Water. She receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program's Threatened Species Recovery Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Legge receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program's Threatened Species Recovery Fund. She is on the Commonwealth Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, and also on its National Feral Cat Taskforce.</span></em></p>The Kangaroo Island dunnart was listed as critically endangered before fires ripped through 95% of its habitat. Those that survived the fires now face the threat of feral cats.Rosemary Hohnen, Adjunct associate, Charles Darwin UniversitySarah Legge, Professor, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.