Project Leaders: Nicola Mitchell, Sarah Legge
The conservation problem
Image: Corroboree frog via Parks Australia - Australian Alps collection/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
New research led by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub has revealed which mammals are most vulnerable to cats and foxes, and many much-loved potoroos, bandicoots and bettongs, as well as native rodents, are at the top of the list.
In Biblical times, Noah made a plan to secure the Earth’s creatures during the almighty flood. He loaded seven pairs of the most valued land animals and birds, and one pair of everything else, onto his Ark. In Australia today, mammal conservationists also need to plan for floods – but not of water, rather of introduced predators. With a bit of systematic planning, havens could serve as modern-day arks for threatened species. Sarah Legge has a story to tell.
Dr John Kanowski manages the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's science program. We asked him about his life and he had a colourful tale to tell, which started in a big family in country Queensland, included jungle fever and deportation in Malaysian Borneo and a lot of hard work.
Dr Mike Smith joined the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) as a Regional Ecologist just as the organisation was kicking off a major conservation program to re-establish 10 regionally extinct mammal species in the south west of WA, an exciting time to come on board. The area they were being released into is an exclosure site set up by the AWC at Mt Gibson. Here he shares a few of the trials and tribulations of working with threatened species – and the exhilaration of seeing some of Australia’s most imperilled animals bounce back.