[frostfire]

Just wondering if any of the people from Australia could clear something up for me....

I read that Australian scientist have discovered a contraceptive pill for kangaroos, as the number of kangaroos is causing chaos for the locals.
I found it quite suprising that native species were actually causing problems because there are too many. Usually you only hear that non-native species, that have been released into the wild, do that. I was just wondering what problems they were causing, that people are trying to find ways to decrease their numbers, as 99.99% of the time we are trying to find ways of keeping species from extinction.
Apparently on Kangaroo Island a same type of pill was used to keep koala numbers down. Something else that suprised me, as I thought koalas were endangered species.
The article wasn't very informative really, so can anyone explain more?

[black]

Hi Frostfire,
Here's a link to the Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program it should give you most of the info you're looking for and it has a nice photogallery

The Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program

[ozwildlife]

Hi Frostfire
Here there is a commercial kangaroo industry that "harvests" wild kangaroos (mainly for meat and skins). Guess what the total kangaroo quota was for 2007 - have a look at the links below - you may be surprised. There are over 50 species of kangaroos and wallabies, but only a handful of them are killed commercially. Crop damage and competition with livestock are the main reasons the farmers want the numbers reduced. Now when you get large populations in areas closer to the cities (like there has been in Canberra), bringing in the shooters would not go down so well, so other solutions like contraceptives are being tried.

The story is different with Koalas. They are declining in certain areas, and need protection. However there are some localised areas like Kangaroo Island where the population has been growing to the point where there are not enough trees to feed them.

Here are a couple of links that may be of interest.

Kangaroo harvesting - EPA/QPWS

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiv...est-quotas.pdf

[frostfire]

Thanks for the links, they have really cleared things up! It's so frustrating when the newspapers are one sided and/or don't tell the whole story. Luckily there are people here to set it all straight!

[paul m]

Yes, fascinating links. Indicating the problems caused when animal populations conflict with human expansion..... and no, you can't often believe what you read in the press!

Originally Posted by frostfire

Thanks for the links, they have really cleared things up! It's so frustrating when the newspapers are one sided and/or don't tell the whole story. Luckily there are people here to set it all straight!