Kangaroo Island refuge launched to protect endangered wildlife

BBC News 26 February 2021

The new Western River Refuge on Kangaroo Island was launched on 26 February by South Australian Minister for Environment and Water, David Speirs, securing a critical haven for ecosystem bushfire recovery on the island.

The Western River Refuge, an Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife (KI LfW) and private landholder jointly managed property, now protects over 369 hectares of critical habitat for threatened species. The refuge is also helping save Australia’s most endangered mammal, the Kangaroo Island Dunnart.

The partnership between AWC, KI LfW and local landholders (the Doube family) constructed the 8.8km long feral-predator fence in the Western River area of Kangaroo Island.

The Kangaroo Island dunnart was already critically endangered when its habitat was ravaged by Australia's bushfires last year.

Now ecologists are desperate to protect the "cryptic and mysterious" marsupial. The BBC visited Kangaroo Island to learn more. Click here to watch this video

Video by Simon Atkinson, BBC News