Editing Kangaroo Island (section)

==Environment==
===Climate===
[[File:Little Sahara, Kangaroo Island.jpg|thumb|right|Little Sahara]]
Having a [[warm-summer Mediterranean climate]] (''[[Köppen climate classification|Csb]]''), the winters between June and September are mild and wet, the summers usually warm and dry. Tempered by the ocean, particularly on the coastline, maximum temperatures in summer rarely exceed {{convert|35|C}}.

Average temperatures in August range between {{convert|13|and|16|C}} and in February, the hottest month, between {{convert|20|and|25|C}}.

Between May and September the island receives two-thirds of its annual rainfall, varying from {{convert|450|mm|in}} in Kingscote to around {{convert|900|mm|in|0}} near Roo Lagoon on the top of the central plateau. The wettest month is July.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bureau of Meteorology, Australia |title=Climate statistics for Australian locations |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_022807.shtml |access-date=18 June 2007 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204021257/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_022807.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = [[Kingscote Airport]], [[Cygnet River, South Australia|Cygnet River]], Kangaroo Island
|open = y
|single line = y
|metric first = y
|Jan record high C = 43.8
|Feb record high C = 43.8
|Mar record high C = 39.9
|Apr record high C = 33.9
|May record high C = 27.1
|Jun record high C = 22.4
|Jul record high C = 24.0
|Aug record high C = 25.0
|Sep record high C = 27.8
|Oct record high C = 33.8
|Nov record high C = 38.8
|Dec record high C = 43.0
|year record high C = 43.8
|Jan high C = 26.6
|Feb high C = 26.6
|Mar high C = 24.5
|Apr high C = 21.6
|May high C = 18.6
|Jun high C = 16.1
|Jul high C = 15.4
|Aug high C = 16.1
|Sep high C = 18.0
|Oct high C = 20.1
|Nov high C = 23.0
|Dec high C = 24.8
|year high C = 21.0
|Jan low C = 13.2
|Feb low C = 13.6
|Mar low C = 11.1
|Apr low C = 8.7
|May low C = 7.9
|Jun low C = 6.8
|Jul low C = 6.0
|Aug low C = 5.7
|Sep low C = 6.5
|Oct low C = 7.1
|Nov low C = 9.6
|Dec low C = 10.9
|year low C = 8.9
|Jan record low C = 3.1
|Feb record low C = 5.3
|Mar record low C = -0.4
|Apr record low C = -1.0
|May record low C = -0.6
|Jun record low C = -2.4
|Jul record low C = -2.1
|Aug record low C = -1.9
|Sep record low C = -2.0
|Oct record low C = -2.0
|Nov record low C = 0.4
|Dec record low C = 1.0
|year record low C = -2.4
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 14.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 16.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 25.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 27.1
|May precipitation mm = 46.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 67.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 66.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 56.3
|Sep precipitation mm = 45.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 30.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 22.0
|Dec precipitation mm = 19.3
|year precipitation mm = 436.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 4.1
|Feb precipitation days = 3.7
|Mar precipitation days = 6.4
|Apr precipitation days = 8.9
|May precipitation days = 15.0
|Jun precipitation days = 18.2
|Jul precipitation days = 19.4
|Aug precipitation days = 19.0
|Sep precipitation days = 15.5
|Oct precipitation days = 10.1
|Nov precipitation days = 7.9
|Dec precipitation days = 7.2
|year precipitation days = 159.4
|source = [[Bureau of Meteorology]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_022841_All.shtml |title=Climate Statistics for KINGSCOTE AERO |publisher=[[Bureau of Meteorology]] |work=Climate statistics for Australian locations |access-date=6 May 2015 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219151616/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_022841_All.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

===Conservation===
[[File:Sea lion and pup in Seal Bay - Kangaroo Island.jpg|thumb|right|Seal Bay's [[Australian sea lion]]s]]
Nearly half of the island has never been cleared of vegetation,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/nature/island/ep6/about.htm |title=Kangaroo Island – About |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402162158/http://www.abc.net.au/nature/island/ep6/about.htm |archive-date=2 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a quarter of it is conserved in [[National Park]]s, [[Conservation park (Australia)|Conservation Park]]s, and five Wilderness Protection Areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/visitor/kisland.html |publisher=South Australian Government Department for Environment and Heritage |title=South Australian National Parks & Reserves – Kangaroo Island Region |access-date=3 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080728053133/http://environment.sa.gov.au/parks/visitor/kisland.html |archive-date=28 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The main protected areas are:
* [[Flinders Chase National Park]]
* [[Seal Bay Conservation Park]]
* [[Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park]]
* [[Cape Bouguer Wilderness Protection Area]]
* [[Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area]]

Because of its isolation from mainland Australia, foxes and rabbits are absent from and prohibited from entering the island.

The [[Western grey kangaroo|Kangaroo Island kangaroo]], [[Rosenberg's monitor|Rosenberg's sand goanna]], [[southern brown bandicoot]], [[tammar wallaby]], [[common brushtail possum]], [[short-beaked echidna]], [[Australian sea lion]] and [[New Zealand fur seal|long-nosed fur seal]] are native to the island, as well as six bat and frog species. The sole [[endemism|endemic]] vertebrate species is a small marsupial carnivore, the [[Kangaroo Island dunnart]].

[[Feral cat]]s are a major threat to endangered endemic native fauna, including the Kangaroo Island dunnart, the Kangaroo Island echidna, and the Southern brown bandicoot. Cats can also spread livestock diseases such as [[sarcocystis]] and [[toxoplasmosis]]. A program to eradicate an estimated population of between 3,000 and 5,000 cats within 15 years was started in 2016.<ref name="ABC1">{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-07/kangaroo-island-plans-to-be-feral-cat-free-in-15-years/7908068 |title=Feral cats: Kangaroo Island's plan to eradicate all felines in 15 years |first=Prue |last=Adams |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=7 October 2016 |access-date=1 August 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807201223/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-07/kangaroo-island-plans-to-be-feral-cat-free-in-15-years/7908068 |url-status=live }}</ref> Then mayor Peter Clements said: "We have to reach a point where we don't have any cats on this island. The feral cat is an [[apex predator]]. It is ruining our species here on the island and we are totally committed to eliminating all cats."<ref name="ABC1"/> Registration and [[Microchip implant (animal)|microchipping of cats]] is mandatory.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Kangaroo Island Council |url=http://www.kangarooisland.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Dog_and_Cat_Management_Plan_2005_MD_App.pdf |title=Dog and Cat Management Plan |year=2005 |access-date=3 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518205825/http://www.kangarooisland.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Dog_and_Cat_Management_Plan_2005_MD_App.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2009 }}</ref> There is a cat-proof [[electrified fence]] separating the Dudley Peninsula—with much vulnerable wildlife—from the rest of the island, where there are more people and cats, with traps at the gaps to allow people and other wildlife access. Cat-detecting dogs, drones, artificial intelligence, traps, and thermal optics are also deployed, and there is a feline hotline for residents to report a cat sighting.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Tory |title=Drones, AI and one long fence: Kangaroo Island's war on a clawed predator that kills 1.5bn Australian animals a year |newspaper=The Guardian |date=27 April 2025 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/27/drones-ai-and-one-long-fence-kangaroo-islands-war-on-a-clawed-predator-that-kills-15bn-australian-animals-a-year }}</ref>

The [[koala]], [[common ringtail possum]] and [[platypus]] have been introduced and still survive there. The introduced koalas have flourished, to the degree that their preferred food source, the [[Eucalyptus viminalis|manna gum]], is at risk of local extinction. The idea of a [[culling|cull]] of the burgeoning koala numbers is distasteful to the public, and the state government prefers to use [[neutering|sterilisation]] for [[population control]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/28/kangaroo-island-koala-cull-rejected-by-south-australian-government |title=Kangaroo Island koala cull rejected by South Australian government |last=Wahlquist |first=Calla |date=28 August 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=22 January 2019 |archive-date=22 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044131/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/28/kangaroo-island-koala-cull-rejected-by-south-australian-government |url-status=live }}</ref> Although [[chlamydophila pneumoniae]] is widespread in most koala populations, the disease is not present on Kangaroo Island due to its isolation from other colonies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.savethekoala.com/our-work/island-and-isolated-populations |title=Island and Isolated Populations |work=Australian Koala Foundation |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=16 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716140450/https://www.savethekoala.com/our-work/island-and-isolated-populations |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Conflict between conservation and development====
Conservation interests have come into conflict with proponents of various development proposals made since the 2000s. These include a helipad in the island's south-western wilderness,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.edo.org.au/kangaroo |title=Kangaroo Island, South Australia |work=EDOs of Australia |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-date=24 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135655/http://www.edo.org.au/kangaroo |url-status=dead }}</ref> a [[southern bluefin tuna]] pen on the north coast of the island<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/kangaroo-island-residents-reject-plan-to-relocate-a-tuna-pen-and-pontoon-from-port-lincoln/news-story/f821ab7d034b5b253fb1303e5755ff99 |title=Tuna canned in marine tourism row |work=The Advertiser |date=21 September 2012 |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-date=21 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121185908/http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/kangaroo-island-residents-reject-plan-to-relocate-a-tuna-pen-and-pontoon-from-port-lincoln/news-story/f821ab7d034b5b253fb1303e5755ff99 |url-status=live }}</ref> (which resulted in the withdrawal of the proposal), The Cliffs Golf Resort near Pennington Bay (for which Crown land was considered for private sale or lease to developers)<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/golf-course-developers-to-benefit-of-crown-land-disposal-on-ki/news-story/1e312b33303de015a83a91b56e6f0ced |title=KI group tees off over golf course plant |last=Kellner |first=Lydia |date=21 December 2017 |work=The Advertiser |access-date=24 January 2018 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and a port proposal at Smith Bay to facilitate timber exports<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-02-22/sach-ki-wharf-proposal/8293660 |title=Tension brewing over location of proposed timber export facility on KI |last=Fowler |first=Courtney |date=22 February 2017 |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=8 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508155442/http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-02-22/sach-ki-wharf-proposal/8293660 |url-status=live }}</ref> and cruise ship visitation.

===Birds===
{{See also|List of birds of Kangaroo Island, South Australia}}
An endemic species of [[emu]], the [[Kangaroo Island emu]], became extinct between 1802 and 1836.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |title=Kangaroo Island Emu |access-date=31 December 2012 |work=BirdLife data zone: Species factsheet |publisher=BirdLife International |year=2012 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211131207/https://www.birdlife.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The island is the last South Australian refuge of an [[endangered]] [[subspecies]] of the [[glossy black cockatoo]] (''Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |title=Glossy Black-cockatoo |access-date=31 December 2012 |work=BirdLife data zone: Species factsheet |publisher=BirdLife International |year=2012 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211131207/https://www.birdlife.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=64436 |title=''Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus'' — Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Kangaroo Island), Glossy Black-Cockatoo (South Australian) |access-date=31 December 2012 |work=SPRAT profile |publisher=Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Australia |date=13 March 2012 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222014510/http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=64436 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Kangaroo Island Important Bird Area====
Kangaroo Island has been identified by [[BirdLife International]] as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) because it supports populations of the [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] [[fairy tern]], the [[near threatened]] [[bush stone-curlew]], [[hooded plover]] and [[western whipbird]], and the [[biome]]-restricted [[rock parrot]] and [[purple-gaped honeyeater]]. It also supports over 1% of the world populations of [[Cape Barren geese]], [[black-faced cormorant]]s, [[Pacific gull]]s and [[pied oystercatcher]]s, and sometimes of [[musk duck]]s, [[blue-billed duck]]s, [[freckled duck]]s, [[Australian shelduck]]s, [[chestnut teal]]s and [[banded stilt]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Kangaroo Island |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=23940 |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=27 February 2015 |date=2015 |archive-date=9 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509023228/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=23940 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Little penguin colonies====
[[Little penguin]] colonies at Penneshaw and Kingscote can be accessed by joining guided nocturnal tours. Both colonies are currently in decline. Several colonies elsewhere on the island are believed to now be extinct, or contain only 'a few' birds. Historic colonies on Kangaroo Island include [[Cape Gantheaume]], [[Ravine des Casoars]] and Harvey's Return.<ref>Wiebken, A. [http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au/Portals/2/Coast/Reports/FINAL%20for%20web%20-%20penguin%20report%2013-9-11.pdf "Conservation Priorities for Little Penguin Populations in Gulf St Vincent"] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222182949/http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au/Portals/2/Coast/Reports/FINAL%20for%20web%20-%20penguin%20report%2013-9-11.pdf|date=22 February 2014}} (PDF) ''SARDI'', South Australia (2011-06). Retrieved 21 February 2014.</ref> In 1950 and 1972, author [[Mervinia Masterman]] claimed that little penguins could be found at Flinders Chase in "thousands".<ref>{{cite book |last=Masterman |first=Mervina |year=1950 |title=Flinders Chase – Kangaroo Island, South Australia |place=Melbourne |publisher=Georgian House}}{{page needed|date=December 2020 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Flinder's Chase Revisited |last=Masterman |first=Mervinia |publisher=Griffin Press |year=1972 |place=Netley, SA |pages=63, 68, 73 }}</ref> She described the population utilizing the limestone caves at [[Ravine des Casoars|Ravine de Casoars]] as "innumerable" and described watching "dozens" come ashore at Sandy Beach.<ref name=":0"/> Penguins were also present at Hanson Bay on the island's south coast in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93863858 |title=Eleanor Barbour's Pages for Country Women |newspaper=[[The Chronicle (South Australia)|The Chronicle]] |place=Adelaide |date=13 December 1951 |via=Trove |access-date=14 March 2014 |archive-date=24 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224235935/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93863858 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The decline of penguin populations has prompted expanded monitoring regimes from 2011 to the present. The 2013 Kangaroo Island little penguin census revealed that numbers had decreased by 44 to 100 percent at all surveyed colonies over the prior two years. The census included eight survey sites.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/2439107/penguin-populations-dropping/ |title=Penguin populations dropping |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=26 July 2014 |newspaper=The Islander |place=Kangaroo Island |archive-date=28 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728100010/http://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/2439107/penguin-populations-dropping/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Fires===
====2007 bushfires====
[[File:Kangaroo Island with burn scars, Dec 2007.jpg|thumb|Burn scars from 2007 show red in this false-colour satellite image]]
{{main|2007 Kangaroo Island bushfires}}
Lightning strikes on Thursday 6 December 2007 caused several fires on the Island. Before being contained on 16 December 2007, over 20% of the Island had been burnt, totaling {{convert|900|sqkm|acre}}, principally within National Park and Conservation Reserves.

The most serious outbreak occurred in [[Flinders Chase National Park]], with 630 square kilometres (or 85% of the total park area) having been burnt.<ref>The Islander 20 December 2007</ref>

====2020 bushfires====
[[File:2020-01-08_Kangaroo_Island_Fire_Terra_MODIS-7-2-1-LABELS-EN.png|thumb|False colour imagery from [[Terra (satellite)|Terra]] satellite showing burnt area from 2019–20 bushfire season]]
In January 2020, the island was one of many places nationwide affected by bushfire as part of the [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season|2019–2020 Australian bushfire season]].

Across Kangaroo Island, several fires burnt in excess of {{convert|2100|sqkm|acre}}, about 52 percent of the island. A bushfire emergency warning was issued on 3 January 2020 as the fire advanced towards [[Vivonne Bay]], and the town of {{SAcity|Parndana}} was evacuated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-03/cfs-battles-kangaroo-island-fire-amid-extreme-heat/11838600 |title=Kangaroo Island bushfire emergency declared as firefighters warn they can't stop fire spreading, Adelaide Hills ablaze again |work=ABC News |place=Australia |date=3 January 2020 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103033304/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-03/cfs-battles-kangaroo-island-fire-amid-extreme-heat/11838600 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mott |first=Mitch |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/ravine-fire-burning-on-kangaroo-island-virtually-unstoppable-in-current-conditions-cfs-says/news-story/e8ce03fa2178a0148a324627cabeb611 |title=Ravine fire burning on Kangaroo Island 'virtually unstoppable' as major towns only safe place left on island |work=The Advertiser |place=Adelaide |date=3 January 2020 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103125021/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/ravine-fire-burning-on-kangaroo-island-virtually-unstoppable-in-current-conditions-cfs-says/news-story/e8ce03fa2178a0148a324627cabeb611 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fires were not declared contained until 21 January.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/kangaroo-island-fire-officially-contained-c-657459 |title=Kangaroo Island fire officially contained |publisher=[[Australian Associated Press]] |date=21 January 2020 |access-date=21 January 2020 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920204808/https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/kangaroo-island-fire-officially-contained-c-657459 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two people died on Kangaroo Island due to the fires.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/kangaroo-island-fires-two-confirmed-dead-as-blazes-continue-to-burn-c-632266 |series=Kangaroo Island fires |title=Two confirmed dead as blazes continue to burn |id=632266 |website=7news.com.au |access-date=4 January 2020 |archive-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104021731/https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/kangaroo-island-fires-two-confirmed-dead-as-blazes-continue-to-burn-c-632266 |url-status=live }}</ref> A number of wildlife species, some unique to Kangaroo Island and some already endangered before the 2019–2020 bushfires, might be facing extinction in the wild as a result of the fires.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/bushfires-take-a-devastating-toll-on-kangaroo-island-s-unique-wildlife-20200106-p53p33.html |title=Bushfires take a devastating toll on Kangaroo Island's unique wildlife |date=6 January 2020 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105194209/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/bushfires-take-a-devastating-toll-on-kangaroo-island-s-unique-wildlife-20200106-p53p33.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true |archive-date=5 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Readfearn |first=Graham |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/04/ecologists-warn-silent-death-australia-bushfires-endangered-species-extinction |title='Silent death': Australia's bushfires push countless species to extinction |date=3 January 2020 |website=www.theguardian.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104181959/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/04/ecologists-warn-silent-death-australia-bushfires-endangered-species-extinction |archive-date=4 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Brulliard |first1=Karin |last2=Fears |first2=Darryl |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/01/09/australia-fire-animals-killed/ |title=A billion animals have been caught in Australia's fires. Some may go extinct. |date=9 January 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=11 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109192631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/01/09/australia-fire-animals-killed/ |archive-date=9 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> Among these, an estimated 80% of the previously 50,000 koalas living on the island died in the fires.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/7054046/ki-koala-numbers-estimated-down-to-8500-from-48000-before-bushfires/ |title=KI koala numbers estimated down to 8500 from 48,000 before bushfires |date=14 December 2020 |access-date=21 March 2022 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324064738/https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/7054046/ki-koala-numbers-estimated-down-to-8500-from-48000-before-bushfires/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Flinders Chase National Park]] was again damaged in the [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2020/jan/08/scorched-earth-the-bushfire-devastation-on-kangaroo-island-in-pictures |title=Scorched earth: the bushfire devastation on Kangaroo Island – in pictures |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 January 2020 |access-date=28 January 2020 |archive-date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128055403/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2020/jan/08/scorched-earth-the-bushfire-devastation-on-kangaroo-island-in-pictures |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fossils===
{{Infobox rockunit
| image = EmuBayloc.JPG
| caption = North Coast of Kangaroo Island, Emu Bay
| type = [[Formation (stratigraphy)|Geological formation]]
| prilithology = [[Shale]]
| otherlithology = 
| namedfor = 
| namedby = 
| region = The north coast of Kangaroo Island, around [[Emu Bay, South Australia|Emu Bay]] and [[Cape D'Estaing]]
| country = South Australia, Australia.
| coordinates = {{Coord|35.585|S|137.500|E|region:AU-SA}}
| unitof = 
| subunits = 
| thickness = 
| extent = 
| area = 
| age = {{geological range |Cambrian Stage 4 |ps=("Lower Cambrian") |refs=<ref name="García-Bellido2013">{{Cite journal |last1=García-Bellido |first1=D.C. |last2=Paterson |first2=J.R. |last3=Edgecombe |first3=G.D. |doi=10.1016/j.gr.2012.12.002 |title=Cambrian palaeoscolecids (Cycloneuralia) from Gondwana and reappraisal of species assigned to Palaeoscolex |journal=Gondwana Research |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=780–795 |year=2013 |bibcode=2013GondR..24..780G }}</ref>}}
| period = Cambrian Stage 4
}}
The northern coast of Kangaroo Island contains important fossil-bearing deposits, dating from the late Lower [[Cambrian]], such as the [[Emu Bay Shale]] (late [[Botomian]], 517 million years old).<ref name="Jago">{{cite web |title=Correlation within early Palaeozoic basins of eastern South Australia |first1=JB |last1=Jago |first2=Xiaowen |last2=Sun |first3=Wen-long |last3=Zang |date=December 2002 |pages=1–22 |url=http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38804/Correlation_palaeozoic_sa.pdf |access-date=4 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013022216/http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38804/Correlation_palaeozoic_sa.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2009 }}</ref> A variety of primordial marine arthropods left their remains in this [[Burgess shale type preservation]], but the larger grain size of the Emu Bay rock means that the quality of preservation is lower.<ref name=Glaessner1979>{{Cite journal |last=Glaessner |first=M.F. |year=1979 |title=Lower Cambrian Crustacea and annelid worms from Kangaroo Island, South Australia |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=21–31 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |url=http://www.informaworld.com/index/795083400.pdf |doi=10.1080/03115517908565437 |bibcode=1979Alch....3...21G }}</ref>

A few genera of non-biomineralized arthropods, among them ''[[Squamacula]]'', ''[[Kangacaris]]'', and the megacheiran ''[[Tanglangia]]'', are known only from the Emu Bay Shale and [[Chengjiang County|Chengjiang]]. The site is also the source of magnificent specimens of [[trilobite]]s such as ''[[Redlichia takooensis]]'', ''[[Emuella polymera]]'', ''[[Balcoracania dailyi]]'', ''[[Megapharanaspis nedini]]'', ''[[Holyoakia simpsoni]]'', and ''[[Estaingia bilobata|Estaingia (=Hsuaspis) bilobata]]''.<ref name="Pocock">{{cite journal |last=Pocock |first=K.J. |year=1970 |title=The Emuellidae, a new family of trilobites from the Lower Cambrian of South Australia |journal=Palaeontology |volume=13 |pages=522–562 }}</ref> ''[[Balcoracania]]'' and ''[[Emuella]]'' are the only known genera of the distinctive ''[[Redlichiina]]'' family ''[[Emuellidae]]'', known for possessing the greatest number of thoracic segments known for Trilobita as a whole (a record of 103 in one ''[[Balcoracania]]'' specimen), and so far entirely restricted to Australia and Antarctica.

The [[Sedimentary depositional environment|depositional environment]] of the majority of Burgess-Shale-type assemblages is outer shelf, deeper water. The Emu Bay Shale in contrast, appears to represent deposition in restricted basins on the inner shelf, indicating that soft tissue preservation occurred in a range of environmental settings during the Cambrian. Some Emu Bay fossils display extensive mineralization of soft tissues, most often of blocky [[apatite]] or fibrous [[calcium carbonate]], including the oldest phosphatized muscle tissue – along with records from [[Sirius Passet]] in Greenland, the first thus far reported from the Cambrian. Mid-gut glands are preserved three-dimensionally in calcium phosphate in the arthropods ''[[Isoxys]]'' and ''[[Oestokerkus]]'', as in related species from the [[Burgess Shale]].

[[Pleistocene]] fossilised footprints indicate extinct [[Australian megafauna]], such as [[diprotodon]]s, [[Sthenurinae|short faced kangaroos]], and [[thylacine]]s were once distributed on the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-23/kangaroo-island-fossil-footprints-reveal-ancient-wildlife/8735572 |title=Fossil footprints reveal Kangaroo Island's diverse ancient wildlife |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |first=Tom |last=Fedorowytsch |date=24 July 2017 |access-date=24 July 2017 |archive-date=24 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724074546/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-23/kangaroo-island-fossil-footprints-reveal-ancient-wildlife/8735572 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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