Kakadu species in crisis

A DRAMATIC drop in wildlife numbers in Kakadu National Park is now a major cause for concern amongst conservationists and the Australian Government.

Kakadu is home to more than 75 threatened species, probably more than any other Australian conservation reserve. But the past decade has seen a worrying decline in their numbers.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is citing invasive species as a major threat. IUCN World Heritage Program Director Tim Badman said unless more work was done to tackle a range of threats, the long-term prospects for Kakadu were grim.

“It’s the documented decline in many species of small mammals as well as some birds and other species, as well as the impacts of invasive species including cane toads, that were amongst the threats that we noticed that were of the most concern,” Mr Badman said. But Parks Australia, which manages Kakadu National Park, was not to blame for the problems, he said. “In the case of Kakadu … the management has been highly effectively done,” he said.

For example, a recent plan to move endangered animals from the park to a remote island free of invasive species was a positive step, he said.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Senator Simon Birmingham said the recently released Kakadu’s Threatened Species Strategy represented a major change in Kakadu’s approach to threatened species.

“The strategy was developed primarily by leading wildlife expert Professor John Woinarski, through the Northern Australia Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Research Program,” Mr Birmingham said.

In 2009, Professor Woinarski and others found a 75 per cent drop over the previous five years in the abundance of small mammals in Kakadu. While the rate of decline has since slowed, Mr Birmingham said that without intervention the outlook would be “bleak”.  

The Government is ramping up action to bring threatened species back from the brink of extinction, Mr Birmingham said. Work to implement the strategy will start immediately, he said, with $750,000 to deliver four priority projects in partnership with Indigenous ranger groups where possible.

“The strategy means more onground work to control direct threats such as feral cats, pigs, buffalo, weeds and fire,” he said. “This plan is built on more than a year of consultation with traditional owners, leading researchers and park staff. Despite the concerns and efforts over many years of park staff and traditional owners, we’ve been losing ground in Kakadu, and the survival of many species has almost slipped through our fingers. We need to do things differently, and better.”

Chair of the Kakadu Board, Maria Lee, said traditional owners and the Kakadu Board of Management needed to work with Parks Australia to look after country. “We have been worried about some of the plants and animals for a long time as their numbers seem to be getting less and less,” Ms Lee said.

A decade ago, Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews was living and working in the park with traditional owners. He returned recently and was struck by the changes. Fires have been too frequent and too fierce, he said, and there were noticeable changes in the number and types of animals.

“Inappropriate fire is a major concern for our threatened plants and animals,” Mr Andrews said. He said fire made feral cats more effective hunters and took away hiding places for reptiles, birds and small mammals.

“I’ve seen Kakadu elders moved to tears at the loss of bandicoots, quolls and wallabies from their lands. For them, and for all Australians, it’s time to ramp up our efforts to save this special place.”

Professor John Woinarski said part of the problem was that Kakadu was “over-blessed with riches”.

“There are so many threatened species occurring here, each faced with a different array of threats, of differing urgency, and at different locations,” he said.