Elusive and endangered animals

Did you know that Australia has one of the highest animal extinction rates in the world? One in every three mammal extinctions in the last 400 years has happened here.

Words CATHERINE LAWSON

I’m about to escape for three blissful weeks of road tripping when I read a snippet of news that turns my holiday on its head. It’s the latest list of worldwide animal extinctions, and I’m appalled to discover that most of them are ours. Australia — for all our sanctuaries and collective sympathy — has one of the highest animal extinction rates in the world. One in every three mammal extinctions in the last 400 years has happened here. Ironic, isn’t it, given that mammals are so closely entwined with our collective Australian identity? Think koalas, echidnas and the platypus, Tasmanian devils and dunnarts, woylies and wombats: all of them distinctly Australian and all of them at risk. This inescapable truth stalls my self-indulgent holiday plans, so I swap infinity pools…

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WellBeing (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 204

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