SDG 15: Life on Land - Maintenance of Equipment

Maintenance of Equipment

Providing Protection for the Endangered Kangaroo Island Dunnart

Shortly after the 2019/20 Kangaroo Island bushfires, the team at Exceptional Kangaroo Island assisted local conservation group, Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife (KILFW) to build shelter tunnels out of chicken wire and shade cloth, providing protection for small mammals and birds, with a specific focus on the Kangaroo Island Dunnart. This grey, mouse-sized carnivorous marsupial was one of the animal species devastatingly affected in the fires, with an estimated 90 percent of their habitat burnt.

In partnership with several international travel partners, significant financial donations were channelled through Exceptional Kangaroo Island to assist the KILFW team to continue research on threat reduction, long-term monitoring, and supporting private land holders and volunteers to take care of the bushland and the threatened species taking refuge within these recovering critical habitats.

As part of the Conservation Connection and Flinders Chase Focus experiences, guests are taken into bushland survey sites and shown the shelter tunnels and the wildlife cameras, with the opportunity to view the imagery captured to see some of the threatened species KI Land for Wildlife are working hard to protect, and assist by checking the integrity of 30m survey fence lines which are made out of flywire.

The 30m-long tunnels have been positioned between small unburnt vegetation patches to provide a corridor for wildlife to safely move through while the burnt areas are regenerating. The cameras inside the tunnels are successfully capturing Kangaroo Island Dunnarts, Southern Brown Bandicoots and other vulnerable bird species.