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community weblog
Predator-free fence project restoring Kangaroo Island's native wildlife
Predator-free fence[1] project praised for restoring Kangaroo Island's native wildlife. Five years after feral cats were removed from inside the Western River Refuge on Kangaroo Island, populations of endangered species have boomed.
[1] Note that in Australia "predator proof fence" or "predator free fence" is used to refer to an enclosed area that has been fenced off with a cat proof/fox proof fence and then the enclosed area has been baited or trapped for feral cats and feral foxes.
The area inside the fence will still have native predators which are a natural part of the ecosystem - wedgetailed eagles and other raptors; lizards and other reptiles; quolls etc.
But the absence of introduced/feral predators like cats and foxes allows native animals to rebound.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries on Jan 21, 2026 at 4:47 AM
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Surprisingly few photos of kangaroos for a place called Kangaroo Island. Feels like when I looked into a Christmas Island vacation.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:48 AM
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Surprisingly few photos of kangaroos for a place called Kangaroo Island. Feels like when I looked into a Christmas Island vacation.
While there ARE kangaroos on Kangaroo Island, the animals you are most likely to see are
Southern Brown Bandicoots;
New Zealand Fur Seals;
Australian Fur Seals;
Australian Sea-lions;
a variety of birds including small raptors;
and very large harmless-to-humans lizards that like sunbathing on roads and which are very difficult to convince to move OFF the roads.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 6:59 AM
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Oddly enough, I am planning a trip to Kangaroo Island in March. I'm going partly to see the animals, so this makes me happy. On the other hand, I had debated just visiting a zoo or wildlife park to see Australian animals, and once you start enclosing things with fences, I do feel that the line between wildlife park and the actual wild gets pretty blurry.
I suppose there is no "wild" as in "untouched by human civilization" anymore, so we just have to try to touch it as lightly as possible. The choices is between fences we build or predators we introduced...
posted by OnceUponATime at 7:20 AM
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Once you start enclosing things with fences, I do feel that the line between wildlife park and the actual wild gets pretty blurry
I mean, almost all predator-proof fenced off areas don't have the animals being fed; being watered; or being taken to the vet.
They are wild animals that live or die on their own choices, just minus cats and minus foxes.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:53 AM
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very large harmless-to-humans lizards that like sunbathing on roads and which are very difficult to convince to move OFF the roads.
Paved roads: the lizard equivalent of king sized bed with 600 count sheets.
posted by Mitheral at 8:49 AM
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I mean, almost all predator-proof fenced off areas don't have the animals being fed;
Sure, but some wildlife parks (refuges? sanctuaries?) don't feed or offer veterinary care to the animals either -- I think that's partly the distinction between a "wildlife" facility and a zoo, no? The animals have to be making their own way to some extent to be considered wildlife? But I don't think there are sharp boundaries or that the words are used in consistent ways. Which is kind of my point. We offer different degrees of protection to "wild" animals, but ultimately they are under our care because the thing they need protection from the most, is us.
posted by OnceUponATime at 9:16 AM
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Wildlife sanctuaries definitely feed animals, they are normally for animals that can't be returned to the wild. The difference generally is they don't exhibit the animals and especially they don't breed them.
posted by tavella at 9:38 AM
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