<
https://theconversation.com/extinction-crisis-native-mammals-are-disappearing-in-northern-australia-but-few-people-are-watching-178313>
"At the time Australia was colonised by Europeans, an estimated 180 mammal
species lived in the continent’s northern savannas. The landscape teemed with
animals, from microbats to rock-wallabies and northern quolls. Many of these
mammals were found nowhere else on Earth.
An unidentified account from the Normanton district of Northwest Queensland,
dating back to 1897, told of the abundance:
“There were thousands of millions of those rats (Rattus villosissimus), and
as most Gulf identities may remember, after them came a plague of native
cats (the Northern Quoll).
These extended from 18 miles west of the Flinders (River) to within 40 miles
of Normanton, and they cleaned up all our tucker.”
But tragically, in the years since, many of these mammals have disappeared.
Four species have become extinct and nine face the same fate in the next two
decades.
And we know relatively little about this homegrown crisis. Monitoring of these
species has been lacking for many decades – and as mammal numbers have
declined, the knowledge gaps have become worse."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
