In Australia, a suicidal marsupial species survived devastating fires

It is a rare species of shrew-like marsupial, whose males usually die of stress after an "intense" breeding season.

He survived the fires that devastated Australia in 2019-2020, researchers revealed on Monday.

When forest fires destroyed a large part of their habitat in Bulburin National Park in eastern Queensland, scientists worried about the future of this silver-headed antechinus species, officially identified in 2013. This park is one of three habitat locations in Australia for this species.

Good news for one of Australia's rarest species, the silver-headed antechinus!

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There were fears the antechinus had been pushed to the brink, so we funded a search for the species 🔍 As a result, scientists managed to trap 21 in Bulburin National Park! Https: //t.co/QcUeqhYbDV

- WWF_Australia (@WWF_Australia) August 16, 2021

“We found 21 individuals among burnt and unburned habitats, which is great.

That means they survive, ”explained Andrew Baker of the Queensland University of Technology.

With a third of their habitat being devastated by the flames, Mr. Baker feared that no marsupial of this species had survived.

The male silver-headed antechinus, which feeds primarily on insects and spiders, usually dies before the age of one year from the consequences of an intense two-week breeding season.

Females rarely survive until a third mating period.

“In males, high testosterone levels due to oversized testes prevent blocking of the stress hormone cortisol.

They are therefore overflowing with cortisol during the breeding season and this ends up poisoning them ”.

Threatened by cats

“Males suffer from internal bleeding, their hair falls out, sometimes they go blind.

Even then, they can roam around looking for females to mate with until they die, ”says Baker.

From late May to early June, scientists trapped surviving marsupials, using sniffer dogs to spot places to place traps or cameras as part of an operation funded by WWF Australia.

Mr. Baker fears, however, that the future of the species will be threatened in the long term by climate change, which leads in particular to periods of drought and more frequent fires.

In addition, they are threatened by non-native predators such as cats as well as the destruction of the brush in which they live, by animals such as cows, horses and wild pigs.

Daniel Grover of WWF Australia, who took part in this study, said it was important to research the species after the fires. “The silver-headed antechinus was immediately declared an endangered species even before it was affected by the fires. We cannot let it go ”.