Dr. Hornsby has installed about 100 nest boxes at premium sites for phascogales. Although the natural extinction of South Australia's phascogales now seems beyond repair, it may not be permanent. In that regard the zoo is an ideal place. Taking into account Adelaide Zoo's track record of breeding rare and endangered animals for reintroduction into the wild, this is a role we hope that the zoo would take on board. For that to be effective, however, the factors leading to the decline of so many species will need to be reversed.
Cats are very difficult to control, but it's being looked into.
We can't grow forests in a short time, but what we can do is augment what we have got with the basic requirements of phascogales by putting up nest boxes in the stringy bark woodlands that we've got. Putting up nest boxes is going to help not only phascogales but all the other arboreal species, particularly birds, which are looking for nesting hollows that aren't there any more. Archives - Archives of past weeks' Daily Selected News Stories. All Rights Reserved. All other copyrights remain property of their respective owners.