Australia's threatened species
Box 5 | Survival of the cutest?
Which cause would you prefer to give money to – saving some endangered insects or looking after baby koalas?
It is easy to love koalas, and even though they are not endangered their preservation and protection receive a lot of attention. This is good news for koalas, and it should certainly stay that way. The problem arises when we consider other species that are not as appealing as koalas but are under much more serious threats.
Some species have no public appeal
For example, how do you feel about saving rats? Many rodent species are native and have become endangered, but the public is not very concerned about this. Authorities have recently decided to rename these native rats using Aboriginal words, thereby making the animals sound more appealing and more Australian. It is hoped that people will become more motivated to conserve them.
Many sharks are also becoming endangered, but we find it hard to accept that such gruesome predators should be protected rather than rounded up and killed.
In the battle for dollars and political attention, the more appealing species tend to win. Often these are mammals (although not rats!) and, ironically, few of them play vital roles in our ecosystems.
Emblematic species are national symbols
Those species that sum up a country, region or way of life are called emblematic species. They are protected for reasons more economic and political than biological. For example, widespread outrage among voters and an unprecedented tourism disaster of economic significance would both eventuate if there were no koalas left in the wild in Australia. China would no doubt feel the same way about its pandas.
Many African countries are making efforts to preserve their lions and elephants. But these are often only kept in special areas - the national parks – that no longer reflect the genuine original habitat with all its diversity.
These problems also apply in Australia. Some of our emblematic species – the red kangaroo, for example – have benefited from agriculture to the extent that their numbers occasionally exceed pre-European levels. Culling or eating this particular national symbol is not popular, but it would be unlikely to affect the species because red kangaroos are far from endangered!
Boxes
Box 1. The hidden species at risk
Box 2. The aliens
Box 3. Australia's biodiversity
Box 4. The mathematics of reserve systems
Posted April 1997.