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SOUTH Australia has more than 150 islands, most of them free of foxes, feral
cats and rabbits. Without competitors and predators, animals such as the
brush-tailed bettong and the stick-nest rat are thriving on the islands.
Scientists from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in South
Australia have reintroduced to the islands animals that are now extinct on the
mainland. They hope eventually to be able to use the island populations as a
resource for wildlife reintroduction programmes in the rest of the state. This
work plus the formation of the islands and their biological and cultural history
are described in South Australia’s Offshore Islands, a joint work of
the department and the Australian Heritage Commission. The book is available for
$44.95 from Australian government bookshops in capital cities or from
AGPS Mail Order Sales, GPO Box 84, Canberra ACT 2601.