Few marsupials have gone from miraculous survival to the brink of extinction as quickly as the Kangaroo Island dunnart.
In 2019 and 2020, devastating fires burned nearly 10 million hectares of southeastern Australia. The flames threatened hundreds of species with extinction, but the Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni) — which already numbered less than 500 before the fires — seemed to be one that defied expectations in the aftermath (SN: 3/9/21).
But now these rare creatures may be more at risk than ever, researchers say June 16 in Scientific Reports. The danger, as domestic as it sounds, is getting eaten by a cat.
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