Authorities at a popular tourist island are desperately trying to claw its wildlife back to levels last experienced before European migration. It’s one of the country’s most ambitious conservation efforts yet, and so far, they’re succeeding.
Dirk Hartog Island is situated 850 kilometres north of Perth. It is Western Australia’s biggest island, and in recent years it has welcomed back several locally extinct species thanks to the Return to 1616 project (the year Hartog visited the island). However, drivers visiting the island now play a vital role in pushing efforts forward.
With populations flourishing, more animals are now starting to explore the island and tread along roads where they are more susceptible to being hit, with one collision likely resulting in multiple lives, as many animals on the move are mums with young in their pouches.
Tourists, who can take their 4WD to the island by barge in limited numbers, are now being asked to keep an eye out for animals that “stand no taller than a 4WD tyre” to do their bit to help the conservation of the island’s wildlife.
“As native species continue to recover and re-establish across the island, there has been an increase in wildlife movement, including across access roads,” a spokesperson from Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) told Yahoo News. “This is a positive sign that conservation efforts are working, but it also means drivers need to take extra care to avoid collisions with animals.”
Conservation efforts have led to locally extinct species reemerging on the island. Source: Facebook/Parks & Wildlife Services, Western Australia
Three things drivers can do to help wildlife on Dirk Hartog Island
Authorities are urging drivers to do four simple things that will go a long way in helping prevent wildlife collisions:
Avoid driving at night. The majority of the animals on the island are nocturnal, meaning they move around between dusk and dawn.
Drive slowly. It gives both the driver and the animal more time to spot one another.
If an animal is spotted, stop and turn off headlights for 20-30 seconds. This allows animals to regain their night vision and likely scurry away from the perceived danger.
Animals on the island have been dubbed “masters of camouflage” and are often only detected once a collision happens. Taking things slow and keeping in mind that the animals have zero road sense will help protect the vulnerable species.
“These animals are now using restored habitats and, naturally, crossing roads as part of their movement,” the DBCA spokesperson said. Species such as the banded hare-wallaby, western barred bandicoot and dibbler have been “successfully reintroduced” to the island, the spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News. Some of the species were locally extinct for over a century.
It’s not the first time drivers have been urged to do their bit to help protect vulnerable wildlife. Just last week, drivers in Perth were urged to “keep their eyes peeled” for tiny turtle hatchlings scurrying across roads near Lake Joondalup as they fled for the safety of the water from their nests.
4WD drivers have also been urged to stay away from dunes on K’gari in Queensland, formerly known as Fraser Island, as a wide variety of animals, including turtles and birds, were being crushed in their nests.
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