Rotiv Artic/Unsplash

Cats carry diseases that can be deadly to humans, and it’s costing Australia $6 billion every year

When cats were introduced to Australia, they brought several diseases with them. These diseases are taking a big toll on human health and the economy — but there are things we can do.
Red-finned blue-eye Bush Heritage Australia / Adam Kerezsy

Australia’s smallest fish among 22 at risk of extinction within two decades

Twenty of these freshwater fish species have a 50% or greater probability of extinction within the next 20 years.
A brush-tailed rabbit-rat, one of the small mammals disappearing in northern Australia. Cara Penton

The mystery of the Top End’s vanishing wildlife, and the unexpected culprits

Small mammals in northern Australia have been rapidly vanishing for the last 30 years, and scientists weren’t sure why. Now, a major new study found feral livestock are largely to blame.
Anton Darius/Unsplash

One cat, one year, 110 native animals: lock up your pet, it’s a killing machine

Roaming pet cats kill 390 million animals per year in Australia. Most of the animals are native to Australia.
Glossy black cockatoo populations on Kangaroo Island have been decimated. But a few precious survivors remain. Flickr

Conservation scientists are grieving after the bushfires – but we must not give up

The destruction of recent fires is challenging our belief that with enough time, love and money, every threatened species can be saved. But there is plenty we can, and must, now do.
Birds are disoriented by smoke and often cannot escape a fire. James Ross/AAP

A season in hell: bushfires push at least 20 threatened species closer to extinction

In a matter of weeks, the fires have subverted decades of dedicated conservation efforts for many threatened species.
The Tasmanian tiger is among the best known of our extinct species, but researchers have now revealed the extent of the crisis. TASMANIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

Scientists re‑counted Australia’s extinct species, and the result is devastating

New research has revealed 100 plant and animal species have become extinct in the past two centuries – a far higher number than previously thought.
Given the time available, the black-throated finch could have been one of the best-studied birds in Australia. Eric Vanderduys/AAP Image

Adani’s finch plan is approved, just weeks after being sent back to the drawing board

The Queensland government has green-lit an updated version of Adani’s plan to protect the black-throated finch at its Carmichael mine site, after the earlier plan was branded inadequate.
The Darling River near Louth NSW, April 2019, in the midst of a drought compounded by upstream irrigation policies. Jaana Dielenberg

As the dust of the election settles, Australia’s wildlife still needs a pathway for recovery

In the event, the federal election turned out to be more about the economy than the environment. But there are steps the Coalition government can take to help conservation and boost the economy too.
Success with conservation of Kangaroo Island’s Glossy Black-Cockatoos can now be compared with other bird conservation efforts around the country. Ian Sanderson/Flickr

For the first time we’ve looked at every threatened bird in Australia side‑by‑side

New research has shown how to measure conservation progress for Australia’s 238 endangered bird species
The Flock Bronzewing is an inland species that is vulnerable to drought. Those vulnerabilities are heightened in an era of climate change and increased risks from feral predators. Shutterstock

We must strengthen, not weaken, environmental protections during drought – or face irreversible loss

Australian wildlife can generally cope with drought, but they’re not prepared for the combination of people, introduced animals, and no water.
A feral cat snapped by a remote camera in the wild. NT government

A hidden toll: Australia’s cats kill almost 650 million reptiles a year

The average Australian feral cat kills 225 reptiles a year, which adds up to 596 million in total, according to a new estimate. Pet cats, meanwhile, kill a further 53 million.
On the prowl in the outback. Hugh McGregor/Arid Recovery

For whom the bell tolls: cats kill more than a million Australian birds every day

For the first time, researchers have estimated the toll taken by feral and pet cats on Australia’s bird life - and the numbers are high enough to push several species towards extinction.
The sun rises above Uluru in outback Australia. David Gray/Reuters

We need our country; our country needs us

‘Australian values’ have been mangled into meaninglessness by countless politicians. But there is an national character, shaped by the Australian land. New research investigates Outback values.
The quoll, one of the mammal species that calls Kakadu home. Jonathan Webb/supplied

Too good to lose: how to reverse the species declines at Kakadu

Kakadu National Park in Australia’s tropical north is one of the world’s premier conservation reserves. However, it is partly failing in one of its principal purposes. The past two to three decades have…
Indigenous rangers at the Fish River Station in the Northern Territory. Indigenous Land Corporation

Why Australia’s outback is globally important

There are places in Australia that are awe-inspiring, spectacular, mysterious; they touch our spirit and help define our nation. Kakadu is one, Uluru another, the magnificent red sandy deserts, the Kimberley…
Gump, who died in May, was the last known member of her species. Director of National Parks/Supplied

Vale ‘Gump’, the last known Christmas Island Forest Skink

Among the most haunting and evocative images of Australian wildlife are the black and white photographs of the last Thylacine, languishing alone in Hobart Zoo. It’s an extraordinary reminder of how close…
Quolls have been hit hard by the introduction of cane toads, foxes, cats and other big changes over the past 200 years – but if we act fast, we may be able to save them. Bronwyn Fancourt

Quolls are in danger of going the way of Tasmanian tigers

With sharp teeth and an attitude to match, quolls are some of Australia’s most impressive hunters. Ranging from around 300g to 5kg, these spectacularly spotted marsupials do an out-sized job of controlling…
What’s the best way to give Australia’s mammals a helping hand? Northern Australia Hub, National Environmental Research Program

To save Australia’s mammals we need a change of heart

Twenty-nine Australian land mammals have become extinct over the last 200 years, and 56 are currently facing extinction. These losses and potential losses represent over a third of the 315 species present…
The paradise of Lord Howe Island has a grim history of biodiversity loss. Roberta W B

Australian endangered species: Lord Howe Long‑eared Bat

Some threatened species are familiar and well-known; others are obscure. The Lord Howe Long-eared Bat may be the epitome of obscure. Were it not for the fluke discovery of a singe tiny but distinctive…

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