Feral cat control underway at Seal Bay to help protect endangered sea lions
Additional feral cat traps are being installed around Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island to help protect vulnerable sea lion pups, which are also facing the threat of H5 bird flu.
This work, delivered in partnership by the Department for Environment and Water and the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, aims to reduce the risks posed by feral cats which spread the deadly parasitic disease toxoplasmosis to sea lions.
Approximately 100 traps are being installed in strategic locations around Seal Bay and connected to a monitoring network. The network monitors the traps and sends alerts when a trap is triggered, enabling the joint field team to respond promptly and operate efficiently across a larger control area.
Through the Australian Sea Lion Resilience Project – funded by the Australian and South Australian governments – the Seal Bay colony has also been supported through measures to help them better withstand and recover from the potential spread of H5 bird such as:
- Treating pups with ivermectin to reduce hookworm burden and significantly improve survival rates
- Installation of pup shelters at high-risk colonies to reduce heat stress and the effects of incidental adult trauma
The Seal Bay program complements a wider range of activities that have been undertaken by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board that reduce existing pressures on native wildlife.
Last year 3.4 hectares of biodiverse revegetation within a herbivore-proof enclosure was planted, adding to 10 hectares established at the site in 2016 and 2017. The plant species provide food and habitat for threatened birds, including the glossy black-cockatoo and western beautiful firetail.
Protecting Kangaroo Island's Glossy black-cockatoo and western beautiful firetail populations
Feral bee colonies are removed from important nesting hollows and nest boxes, while glossy black-cockatoo nesting trees are protected from brushtail possums to improve egg and nestling survival.
Glossy black-cockatoo nest boxes are closed after the breeding season to reduce use by little corellas, galahs and ducks, limiting interaction between bird species and potentially reducing opportunities for disease transmission.
Artificial habitat refuges have been provided for Kangaroo Island dunnarts and southern brown bandicoots in areas affected by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.
The world-leading Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program has shown that feral cat control reduces predation pressure on ground-dwelling and ground-nesting wildlife and reduces disease pressure associated with toxoplasmosis. The knowledge and experience gained by staff since the inception of the program will be extremely beneficial for the work recommencing around Seal Bay.
Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Emily Bourke said controlling feral cats helps reduce the risk of losing sea lions to toxoplasmosis and increases the chance of protecting population numbers, at a time when they are also facing the increasing threat of H5 bird flu.
"We want to do everything we can to protect the endangered Australian sea lions at Seal Bay − they are an iconic marine species that hold a special place in the hearts of South Australians and attract visitors from across the globe," Minister Bourke said.
"Every feral cat removed from the Seal Bay area is beneficial to protecting the colony."
