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9.5.5 Australian Extinct and Endangered Species




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This article is from the soc.culture.australian FAQ, by Stephen Wales with numerous contributions by others.

9.5.5 Australian Extinct and Endangered Species

The last two hundred years have been disastrous for Australia's mammals
with perhaps as many as 18 species becoming extinct (the status of
several is uncertain). This is far worse than any other continent. 50
or more years latter it is hard to be certain of the exact causes but
for 16 of the 18 species most think the primary cause was one or more of
three introduced species: cats, rabbits and foxes. Grazing by domestic
stock may also have affected some species. For the Thylacine and the
Toolache Wallaby extinction came more directly from hunting.

Many more mammals exist now only as small declining populations or
survive only on tiny offshore islands. Saving these species will
present great difficulties.

Australia's plants are the other group to have suffered badly in the
last 200 years. Around 100 species seem to have become extinct and
another 200 of Australia's 20,00 plants are endangered. A further 3,000
species are placed in the less serious categories of rare, vulnerable or
threatened. Many plant communities are not adequately conserved.

Australia's birds have fared better. Only one species has been
lost from mainland Australia - the Paradise Parrot. Island species
have fared worse with a number of species lost from Norfolk and
Lord Howe islands. Emu species found only on Kangaroo Island and
King Island have also been lost.

 

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