Conservationists are reintroducing threatened mammals to their former ranges with fences to keep out cats and foxes
Environment
29 December 2021
A greater bilby scavenging at night cbstockfoto / Alamy Stock Photo
Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world, having lost 34 mammal species in the past 200 years. To prevent other threatened mammals from disappearing, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy is returning them to their former ranges. Jennifer Anson, who is coordinating the project, tells New Scientist it has been a big success.
Alice Klein: Why does Australia have such an abysmal mammal extinction record?
Jennifer Anson: The primary driver is predation by feral cats and foxes that were introduced by Europeans 200 …