There are growing concerns that the way Kakadu National Park is being managed will result in a growing number of native species becoming extinct.
The Australian newspaper recently reported that the Oenpelli python – a snake some believe to be the rainbow serpent in Aboriginal mythology – could be in danger of extinction. There are claims that private-sector attempts to save it have been blocked.
In a letter to Kakadu park manager Sarah Kerin, retired ranger Greg Miles has claimed it is symptomatic of a growing problem. He said the Oenpelli python was just one of a number of endangered animals in Kakadu “that no one is doing anything about, or at least the government seems to be doing nothing about”.
“Lack of action on near-extinct species such as the giant skink, the Kakadu long-tailed rock monitor and the Arnhem rock rat, sets exactly the opposite example to that which is urgently needed nationally,” he wrote.
The Australian reports that Mr Miles argued that a “lock it and leave it” approach to conservation no longer worked because tenacious threats such as cane toads did not respect park boundaries. He said the federal agency that manages Kakadu was “falling to the back of the pack when it comes to innovation in conservation”.
