I recently returned from a two week trip to the northern part of Western Australia. The area, called the Kimberley, is a vastly unspoiled region and sparsely inhabited. It is dotted with several large cattle stations, one of which Home Valley is roughly the size of the country of Kuwait. In fact, the Kimberley is three times the size of England, with a sparse population of 36,000 individuals.
While the Kimberley is blessed with diverse plant and animal life, it is, unfortunately, suffering a plague of sorts; an invasion of cane toads. These creatures––endemic to South and Central America–were brought into Australia in 1935 from Hawaii, which imported them from Puerto Rico. Their introduction was to try and alleviate a beetle problem that was afflicting the sugar cane industry in Queensland. No real thought was given as to the impact this could have.
People often don’t give much forethought to things they do that could upset the natural balance. On our journey through the Kimberley, our guide pointed out that many species are under threat: crocodiles, snakes, lizards and birds, to name a few. To date, there is no adequate remedy and the cane toads have no natural predators in Australia. In time, they are likely to spread to the southern part of the state, including Perth.
Several years ago, a cousin of mine from Chicago rang up wanting to come to Australia for a weekend after seeing Rabbit-Proof Fence. He wanted to see this very long fence. I somewhat shattered my cousin’s illusion about Australia when I told him that it would virtually take a weekend to get to Australia. He never did get to see the fence.
The reason for the fence was another plague that afflicted Australia. Back in the mid-1800s, a farmer from the state of Victoria imported a few rabbits onto his property for hunting purposes. Unfortunately, the rabbits found the Australian conditions ideal, and they multiplied into the hundreds of millions. Authorities decided that they needed to prevent the rabbits from spreading into Western Australia, so they decided to build a fence. In fact, three rabbit-proof barriers were built. While partially successful, they only reduced the number; the rabbits are here to stay.
The rabbits have devastated many areas by eating ground cover, a food source for cattle and sheep, thus reducing their numbers. Also, the removal of ground cover resulted in erosion of the topsoil.
Cane Toad Distribution In Australia
Both the cane toad and the rabbit are not native to Australia. Yet, because of human actions, there have been disastrous results. Other countries have gone through similar experiences because of the introduction of a non-native species.
On many levels, humans think they can improve on nature, not just when introducing a new species into an environment. For example, Bill Gates plans to spray dust into the atmosphere to block out the sun because of “global warming”. Now nothing could go wrong with that, could it? Throughout history, there have been individuals who have played God and believed that they could improve on nature. This often has resulted in dire consequences. Sometimes it’s best just to leave the natural world alone.
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