Western River Refuge

Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis fuliginosus aitkeni).

The Western River Refuge is a protected area to set up protect the Kangaroo Island dunnart. It is on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, in the Australian state of South Australia It is about 170 kilometres (110 miles) south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 64 kilometres (40 miles) west of Kingscote, the main town on Kangaroo Island.[1][2] The refuge is on privately owned land.[3]

The Western River Refuge covers an area of 369 ha (910 acres). It has an 8.8 km (5.5 mi) fence around it to keep out feral cats which kill the dunnarts, and wild pigs which damage trees and plants.[3]

During the 2019-2020 bushfires on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 95% of the dunnart's habitat was destroyed. The dunnart was already a critically endangered animal, with less than 500 known to exist.[4] After the fires experts believed the number of dunnarts was less than 50.[5] The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, local landholders and Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife quickly worked together to create a safe place for the dunnarts. Within six weeks they had set up a fenced cat-free reserve of 13.8 ha (34 acres); this was later expanded to the current size.[3]

Other animals and birds have benefited from living in the protected area. This includes the Kangaroo Island echidna, Southern brown bandicoot and goannas.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Search result for "Western River (STRM)" (Record no SA0020569 with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and "Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Western River". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Western River Refuge". Australian Wildlife Conservancy. 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Kangaroo Island dunnart". www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au. Department for Environment and Water (DEW). 2019-06-12. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  5. ↑ "Kangaroo Island wildlife group 'amazed' at post-fire find". NewsComAu. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
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