Down Under With Australia's Wildlife

swimming they can kick each leg independently. Tree-kangaroos can move each hind leg separately when climbing. It is also interesting to note that, while several species of kangaroos have tails that can wrap around and carry nesting material such as grass and small branches, not one of the tree-kangaroos has the ability to grasp branches with its tail.

Australia is a large country with a wide range of landscapes and climates. Yet kangaroos, rock-wallabies, pademelons, rat-kangaroos, potoroos and others have found all sorts of living areas, or habitats, to suit them across the continent.

Of the 53 species of macropods found in Australia, six have become extinct since European settlement. For another 11 species, the area in which they are found has declined to less than half of what it was in that same 200 years.

A lot of valuable research has been carried out into the habitat needs of declining species. But there is still much more to do. The Australian Government has assisted research and re-establishment programs for species such as the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby, the Brush-tailed Bettong and the Rufous Hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus).

Management methods, such as deliberate control of fire patterns, have been tried on a small scale for particular species. All species of macropod are protected from hunting by state and territory legislation, except for a small number of large species for which commercial harvesting is permitted under approved management programs. The greatest threat to all macropods, however, is reduction or complete destruction of the habitats upon which they depend. This is particularly important for the smaller species where legislation to protect vegetation, such as the Vegetation Retention Scheme in South Australia, is more likely to help ensure their continued survival.

National parks and nature reserves have been important in helping to protect and re-establish some species, especially those that include the offshore islands of Western Australia. These islands are now the main, or only sites, of several species of macropods. But it is not always enough just to declare a reserve. Active management, including deliberate habitat changes, may be needed for some species.

Farmers and graziers have an important role to play in preserving macropods and other Australian wildlife. The Wallaby Creek area in north-eastern New South Wales has an unusually large number of different macropods - eleven species. There are no conservation reserves in the area, and it is used for light cattle grazing and timber production. Understanding why so many macropod species can live in this area, which is also being used for primary

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