The story of this place
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island, separated from the mainland 13,000 years ago as sea levels rose after the last ice age. The isolation created a natural refuge: there are no foxes on Kangaroo Island, no rabbits, no many of the introduced pests that have devastated mainland wildlife. The result is one of the most wildlife-rich places in Australia — Australian sea lions loll on the beaches at Seal Bay, koalas cling to every manna gum, little penguins nest under houses in Penneshaw, and platypuses inhabit freshwater streams.
In January 2020, catastrophic bushfires driven by extreme heat and wind burned nearly half the island in three days. Over 40,000 koalas are estimated to have died. The ecological devastation was profound. But Kangaroo Island's wildlife is recovering — researchers monitoring populations have found numbers rebounding faster than expected, partly because the island's isolation means there are no predators to suppress recovering populations. The fires also revealed ancient Aboriginal sites previously hidden under thick vegetation, rewriting understanding of the island's human history.