How Kangaroos could be jeopardising conservation efforts

How Kangaroos could be jeopardising conservation efforts

Australian scientists have been studying the effect of kangaroos on Australian conservation areas. Conservation is the act of protecting animals, insects and plants from danger. Conservation areas are places like national parks and gardens. The study shows that protected areas in Australia's interior are under stress from rising kangaroo populations. These areas are semi-dry regions. They are dry, but not quite as dry as a desert. 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best describes conservation?

• protecting animals, insects, and plants

• the change in the weather

• dry and vacant

Multiple Choice

According to the text, why are protected areas in Australia under stress?

• there are little animals there

• rising kangaroo populations

• abundant water, too much

Scientists looked at conservation areas in New South Wales and South Australia. They surrounded the conservation areas with different kinds of fences. Some fences were built to keep out only rabbits, or only kangaroos. Some fences excluded both. This allowed the researchers to see the different impacts of rabbits and kangaroos on the plants and the condition of the soil.

Multiple Choice

"Some fences excluded both." Which of the following statements best describes excluded?

• harm or target

• allow, let in

• keep out, eliminate

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best describes why conservation areas used different fences?

• to see the different impacts of rabbits and kangaroos

• they wanted a unique design for these areas

• the architect didn't have enough of one material

Professor Mike Letnic worked on the study. He is a researcher at the University of NSW. Letnic says that kangaroos can do a lot of damage. He says that there is a false belief that "that kangaroos do no harm" because they are a native Australian animal. 

Multiple Choice

"There is a false belief that "that kangaroos do no harm" because they are a native Australian animal." Which of the following statements best describes native?

• place of person or animals birth

• poisonous and toxic

• cute and delicate

Letnic says that farming has given kangaroos a big advantage. It created more watering holes and grass to eat. But most importantly, there has been a long-time selective killing of dingoes. This means that the kangaroos' natural predator has all but disappeared. Dingoes are a type of wild dog native to Australia. 

Multiple Choice

Why is the long-time selective killing of dingoes an advantage to kangaroos?

• dingoes were the kangaroos prey

• dingoes are friends with kangaroos

• dingoes were their natural predators

Multiple Choice

How has farming given kangaroos an advantage?

• farmers buy kangaroo food

• it created more watering holes and grass to eat

• farms replaced their food supply

Farmers have been killing dingoes for so long there are hardly any left. With no predators, kangaroos increased in number. This has led to overgrazing in conservation areas, which means there are fewer resources available for other animals.  

Multiple Choice

Why did the kangaroo population increase?

• they have little to no predators after them

• they are the best animal

• they

Multiple Choice

"This has led to overgrazing in conservation area." Which statement best describes overgrazing?

• overeating of grasses and land

• looking for too long

• sleeping for too long

'When The Grass Is Gone, So Are They'

Graeme Finlayson is a scientist at Bush Heritage Australia. He works with a large former sheep station in South Australia called Boolcoomatta. It was one of the conservation areas examined in the study. "There's areas that should have had native grasses, but it was just dirt," Finlayson says. "Grasses are important for the native species that we're trying to protect."

Multiple Choice

Where does Graeme Finlayson work?

• he's a psychologist in Alaska

• he's a architect

• he's a scientist at Bush Heritage Australia

Multiple Choice

"Grasses are important for the native species that we're trying to protect." Which statement best describes native species?

• a species that is in an area naturally (born and from the area)

• a species that has been brought to a new area

• a species that has taken over another land

Multiple Choice

What effect did changes in the kangaroo population have on Australia?

• Australia has become a safe place to live.

• The government had to put a limit on hunters.

• Large areas of grasslands have become just dirt.

• Kangaroo meat processing has become popular.

As part of the study, researchers found kangaroo populations in the conservation areas were as high as 145 animals per square kilometer. Numbers estimated for Boolcoomatta were lower. Here there were just above seven kangaroos per square kilometer. However, Finlayson says they can rise to 30 or more.

Multiple Choice

What did researchers find about kangaroos?

• kangaroo populations were higher in the conservation areas

• kangaroo populations were higher in Boolcoomata

• kangaroo populations were the same in the conservation as Boolcoomata

Finlayson isn't sure about the best way to reduce the number of kangaroos in conservation areas. "We know [kangaroos] are a good source of food," Finlayson says. "But some people don't like that we eat them." 

Kangaroo Burger

Multiple Choice

"Finlayson isn't sure about the best way to reduce the number of kangaroos in conservation areas." Which statement best describes reduce?

• to make more or bigger

• to make smaller or less

• to keep the same

Multiple Choice

What is Finlayson not sure about?

• why kangaroos are high in population

• how to reduce the number of kangaroos

• where kangaroos live

Open Ended

What do you think we can do to reduce the number of kangaroos in conservations?

The Kangaroo Dilemma

There are an estimated 42.7 million kangaroos in Western Australia, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. That's nearly 1.5 kangaroos for every person in Australia. 

Multiple Choice

Which sentence shows Graeme Coulson’s point of view about kangaroos?

• Graeme Coulson is a professor at the University of Melbourne.

• Coulson has been studying kangaroos since the 1980s.

• Coulson says that Australia urgently needs to manage kangaroo numbers.

• He says prices for kangaroos are going up, which should encourage more people into the business.

Multiple Choice

About how many kangaroos are located in Western Australia, NSW, Queensland and South Australia?

• 40

• 41 thousand

• 42 million

Graeme Coulson is a professor at the University of Melbourne. Coulson has been studying kangaroos since the 1980s. He agrees with Letnic that a major factor helping kangaroo numbers to grow is the absence of the dingo. However, reintroducing them would not be good for farmers. Dingoes catch and eat all sorts of animals, not just kangaroos. 

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the blank: "He agrees with Letnic that a major factor helping kangaroo numbers grow is the absence of __________."

Multiple Choice

Why would reintroducing the dingoes in Australia not be the best solution?

• they would eat farmer's animals

• they would eat the kangaroo

• they would be killed

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between the dingo population and the kangaroo population?

• The high dingo population is causing the kangaroo population to decrease.

• The decrease in dingo population is causing a surge in kangaroo numbers.

• Both populations are facing a lack of food and are decreasing.

• Both populations are thriving due to a lack of natural predators.

Coulson says that Australia urgently needs to manage kangaroo numbers. It is an essential step to protect conservation efforts. "There is now this increasing awareness that kangaroos can have big impacts," he says. 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following most accurately describes Coulson's opinion?

• kangaroos need to decrease their numbers

• kangaroos do not affect their environment

• dingoes should be reintroduced to Australia

Kangaroos may be a pest, but they are still important Australian animals. There is a limit to the number that can be killed for meat and leather. However, hunters do not kill anywhere close to the limit. In 2019, for example, the government data shows a limit of 6.2 million kangaroos was set. Only 1.57 million kangaroos were collected.

Multiple Choice

In 2019, what limit was set for killing kangaroos?

• 6.2 million

• 3 thousand

• 9 hundred

Multiple Choice

True or False: Hunters kill kangaroos over the limit that is allowed for meat and leather.

• true

• false

Ray Borda owns a company that processes kangaroo meat. He says that harvesting wild kangaroos is a tough job.

Borda's business processes about 6,000 kangaroos a week. He says prices for kangaroos are going up, which should encourage more people into the business. But the public conversation about kangaroo harvesting is difficult, he says. "Some landholders say shoot the lot and opponents say you shouldn't shoot any."

Multiple Choice

Ray Borda says, "Some landholders say shoot the lot and opponents say you shouldn't shoot any."

WHY does he say this?

• to explain why people struggle to be successful in kangaroo harvesting

• to illustrate the lasting effects of the kangaroo population on the land

• to identify the top solution for the kangaroo population problem

• to highlight the conflicting ideas around kangaroo harvesting

Multiple Choice

"He says that harvesting wild kangaroos is a tough job." Which of the following statements best describes harvesting?

• talking and communicating

• party and celebrate

• catch/kill animals to use or eat

Multiple Choice

What is the author's purpose?

• inform

• entertain

• persuade