May I add to the comments made by Anne of Atriplex and by Andrew Taylor.
Birds Australia (BA) and John Wamsley's Earth Sanctuaries Limited (ESL) are both concerned with nature conservation and species preservation, but they have different primary aims and hence different strategies: BA is naturally primarily concerned with birds and ESL with mammals, though of course any BA area has potential to conserve mammals, and ESL areas provide habitat for birds.
The major difference in strategy is that ESL is convinced that our small native mammals cannot survive in the presence of feral predators (cats, foxes, pigs) and habitat destroyers (rabbits), and therefore ESL surrounds its sanctuaries with feral-proof fences and eliminates all ferals from within. (CSIRO adopted the same approach in fencing off part of one of those long peninsulas up near Shark Bay in WA)
I believe I'm right in saying that there have been a number of failed attempts to re-introduce small mammal species into areas where they once thrived, and that the failure has been attributed to predation by ferals. And certainly there are examples of healthy populations on feral-free islands when mainland populations have been severely reduced or eliminated.
One of the frustrations of working in a government nature conservation organisation (which I did '63-88) is the well-meaning but misguided public concern over the large kangaroos, causing governments to spend vast sums of money on them when as species they are in no danger at all, while our beautiful little mammals get no consideration.
I reckon John Wamsley is on the right track, and I wonder how successful BA will be unless it can remove or at least greatly reduce ferals in its areas. There was an occasion when the Australian Army carried out an exercise somewhere in southwest Queensland. It was an open woodland area. It was suggested and agreed that they should take the opportunity to shoot any feral cats they found in the area. It was reported that spot-lighting at night they found that almost every tree had a cat in it! Birds must be at some risk in such circumstances; small mammals wouldn't have a hope.
Wamsley says that Numbats (my favourite mammal) once widespread across southern Australia, disappeared from NSW 70 years ago, and the wild population was down to about 200 individuals confined to Dryandra State Forest in southwest W. A. I have watched them in the Perth Zoo - they are active during the day and sleep at night - and I got a brief glimpse one hurrying across a road in Dryandra.
The first post-float "Earth Sanctuaries News" advises that Scotia Sanctuary in NSW (I don't know where that is) has six Numbats with 21 pouch young! Stage 1 of Scotia is a 4000 hectare area surrounded by a 25 km feral-proof fence. Nineteen Numbats were released there last year: stock from a successful breeding program at Yookamurra - another ESL area, but I've forgotten where. The W. A. Department of Conservation and Land Management allowed 15 Numbats to be translocated to Yookamurra in 1993; now they reckon to have 120 or thereabouts.
Just think of it: over 100 new Numbats! Wonderful. I reckon I've already got my money's worth out of my subscription to the ESL float, just knowing that. But there's more: protected from ferals and human interference, in a few generations they should come to tolerate a human presence. Maybe I'll live long enough to walk among Numbats. Now that really would be something!
Wamsley's intention is to have all Australian native mammals protected within such sanctuaries by 2045. If he succeeds I'll gladly forgive him any ambit claims he may make to raise funds. I reckon his cat-skin cap was just that: something to draw attention to the feral predator problem. Now that he's got that attention he's dispensed with the cap.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife are raising money to feral-proof fence an area for Bilbies, so the idea is catching on. I don't know about other States. If you are not already familiar with the book, do try to get a look at the Australian Museum's book of Australian mammals - some 200 plus beautiful little furry faces. What a wealth if only we cared for it!
Syd Curtis at Hawthorne in Queensland
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