Western whipbirds have been spotted at the Western River Refuge for the first time in years. Photo Credit: Brad Leue/Australian Wildlife Conservancy. The fence was designed to keep feral animals such as cats out of the area.
Animals AustraliaPredator-Free Zone Sparks Wildlife Recovery After Fires
Endangered animal populations on Australia’s Kangaroo Island have rebounded by up to 100% after a predator-proof fence created a safe refuge following devastating bushfires.
“We are definitely seeing consistently higher activity levels of vulnerable species inside the fence,” said Pat Hodgens, principal ecologist at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
Five years after a 380-hectare enclosure was completed, species such as the Kangaroo Island dunnart and western whipbird have increased by 90–100% despite the 2019–20 fires destroying more than 90% of their habitat. The project shows how targeted predator exclusion and rapid conservation action can accelerate recovery, with Indigenous leaders now calling for deeper collaboration to restore the land for the long term.
