Australia's New Megafauna: Invasive or Keystone?

[@Aethuviel]

It's just sad how the marsupial rule of Australia is pretty much screwed. Fast forward 20 million years, and Australia will be the home of a new branch of various placental mammal families (ungulates, carnivorans, and lagomorphs), while the marsupials will go the way of American marsupials, or of monotremes, only a few species remaining.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Aethuviel Yeah it's sad how many have gone extinct but conservation is relatively new and people have only been seeing the benefits of it in the last few decades so I have hope!

[@DonJuanMarco1994]

Maybe Australians Marsupials can adapt. Who knows 20 million years from now, one of the Marsupial carnivores like the Quoll would evolve to hunt down animals like camels.

[@zacharymoss2994]

As insane and expensive not to mention ethic boundary, I suggest that some genetic scientists start looking into upsizing surviving marsupials into sizes and forms similar to that lived in Australia like puma sized qoull, rhino sized wombats and Tasmanian devils size of bears, wolves or wolverines. I know it sounds like a Jurassic Park ripoff, but at least marsupials would stay the main mammal life in Australia

[@Ryodraco]

American marsupials aren't doing that badly. There's about 126 species of american opossums, plus the 7 shrew opossums. They definitely lost diversity when South America linked up with North America, but those that survived seem to compete just fine.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Oh shit, I was about to make a similar comment! I could easily imagine isolated invasive species (like the many ones in Australia, but also other parts of the world) evolving into separate species eventually. So that there could be new species like the Australian Camel, German Raccoon, Florida Python, or Colombian Hippopotamus, to name a few interesting examples. These invasive populations are often many thousands of miles away from their native range, so they are very much isolated enough. Ultimately, humans have had, have, and will continue to have a massive effect on evolution of the entire planet. Could you imagine how complicated and confusing paleontology will be in the distant future!?

[@nojorooney]

It’s really amazing to see how the native predators like dingoes, crocodiles, quolls and eagles fight back against not only the feral ungulates and rabbits, but also the feral predators like foxes and cats, by killing or chasing off these invasive predators, making it easier on the population of small, native mammals which spread seeds and mix organic matter into the soil, making forest fires smaller and less destructive.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@nojorooney it's fascinating to see how native animals adapt to the introduced animals. I think dingoes in particular have been amazing. The only predator regularly taking down large across the whole country and by far the best at controlling feral cat and fox numbers.

[@nojorooney]

@@Eco-Nerd I agree, the rakali/Australian water rat and crows and magpies are also very effective predators of the cane toad, which is also a huge problem in Australia, especially since their back secrets a toxin when bitten which is very deadly, so a lot of the predators in Australia can’t take them and survive, but the rakali and crows have learned to flip the toads on their back and eat their stomachs which do not contain any toxins

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@nojorooney Yeah it's amazing that some animals have learned! Colossal are working on making Northern Quolls tolerant to the Cane Toad toxin and reintroducing them, it sounds a bit scary but fascinating all the same

[@jointcerulean3350]

Indeed! Though dingoes were introduced into Australia from people 4000 or 5000 years Ago, the species has since naturalized and are good at regulating native herbivores and introduced species as well in Australia.

[@jointcerulean3350]

Also the native monitors regulate the introduced species as well

[@Dazzalingfossil6040]

Also I didn't know that there were ostriches in Australia. First emus, then cassowaries and now ostriches. All we need is the rhea, the kiwi and the tinamou and the ratite family reunion will be complete and then they can all team up and terrorize the humans and thus marking the beginning of the great ratite war.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Dazzalingfossil6040 sounds exciting 🤣 yeah the ostriches are escapees/releases from farms that had been in Australia

[@PaxAlotin-j6r]

*DazzalingFossil* -- Mate - the Australian Army fought Two wars against the Emus and lost. If the Emus join forces with Ostriches & Cassowaries -- We'll have to build the biggest chook fence ever known.

[@effigy42]

We dont have wild ostriches in australia….

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@effigy42 There are a small number feral ostriches that were escapees (potentially intentional releases) from farms. Ostrich farming isn't popular now but it has been at various stages in the past

[@PaxAlotin-j6r]

@@effigy42 Eddy Ostrich demands justice 😆

[@gtc239]

I mean, Komodo dragon was actually native to Australia prior to their extinction there, so bringing them back is good.

[@nothere57]

piss off

[@rhombifer566]

🤔

[@Boarbags]

We never had them. Stop doing drugs

[@edwardfletcher7790]

​@@BoarbagsYou might want to use Google before exposing yourself to humiliation mate....

[@arn4660]

​@@Boarbagsyou're the one who should check your source. Komodos were thriving in australia 50 000 years ago. They went extinct after the arrival of homo sapiens in australia.

[@graphite2786]

Im a member of the Invasive Species Council so it was very interesting to see a discussion of large invasives on KZbin. Unfortunately there are no benefits to any of the species you discussed, with the slight possibility of banteng. In Australias case, trying to equate feral species to an extinct species doesn't have merit ; the climactic conditions and anthropogenic changes make Australia 2024 very different to Australia 40,000 years ago. For the last 40k years, the main driver to most of the Australian bioregions has been the Indigenous population. Not only were they the main predator of large herbivores, they also had a huge impact through seasonal burning. For many ecological regions, burning regimes are essential to maintain healthy habitat- 40k years of fire maintenance means heavy grazing is now detrimental. Even if we could revive diprotodons, the benifit of their grazing on today's Ecosystems would cause more harm than good. Let alone a hooved substitute. If there was some sort of large herbivore to fill a niche , it would be one of 3 species of rhinoceros. No hooves, slow growth and a low birthrate - they fit more as a proxy diprotodon than any other species. ( there have even been proposals to bring in rhinos as an experiment - it would definitely be an asset for rhinos to save their species) One thing not mentioned are the many species of invasive plants, that have caused substantial changes in Australian Ecosystems , for example Gamba grass, opuntia, boxthorn, bitou bush , Parkinsonia and Blackberry. Some of these are unpalatable not only to native herbivores but also livestock and invasive hoofed animals too . As it stands, the most destructive large ferals are pigs, deer, goats and horses. Water buffalo are the easiest to control as are camels ( to an extent) Thanks for your video

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@graphite2786 Thanks for your reply! Cool to see info from someone educated on the matter! I've also seen it said that the burnings are what changed the Australian ecosystem and made it a fire dependent landscape and indeed a large factor in many of the extinctions. I think if humans altered a continent that severely then we can research the potential impacts of having large herbivores in the right densities the benefit the ecosytem. Most of the non-native herbivores in Australia do seem to be the wrong herbivores though, particularly the smaller ones as you mentioned. It's very hard to judge an animal as being damaging when they live in a landscape without predators though because their densities and behaviour will always be damaging then. I'll be discussing the potential for rhino introduction in my next video and i Think it would be amazing but to be honest Australia has so many introduced herbivores now that surely their priority must be managing those populations. Thanks for watching the video 😎

[@Randomdudefromtheinternet]

I've heard that a species of elephant actively eats this grass, and it meets many of the previously mentioned prerequisites. Any thoughts?

[@arkprice79]

I really think komodo dragons should be brought back to Australia as a proxy for the Megalania one day. They can help control these non native herbivores, which are too big for other predators, and it would help their population grow

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arkprice79 I'll be discussing that in my next video 👀 Thanks for watching!

[@arkprice79]

@Eco-Nerd That sounds great

[@minhducnguyen9276]

Is it possible for them to survive Australia? There must be a reason for their Australian equivalent went extinct.

[@quinkana1]

@@Eco-Nerd I think as with a lot of wildllife introductions things like this need to be done properly. Maybe have a fenced area to see how komodo dragons interact with native and introduced wildlife. I can see them doing well if they manage to dodge the cane toads, and they prob would help with the populations of native animals as they will kill foxes and cats and sometimes dingos.

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

Komodo dragons don't seem to impact the population dynamic of prey species like large warm blooded predators do, even in some of their home range were they occur at high population densities.

[@SonLucasX]

It would be very difficult to introduce large predators into Australia, they are already reduced in their native habitats, farmers and the population in general would not like having large carnivores running around, in addition to the damage they would cause to the local fauna, there is always some benefit and harm together when it comes to these introductions. But I believe that Pumas would be excellent introductions to Australia, they can live in more arid environments and tend to kill prey larger than themselves, they are also one of the few large cats that have a large population. They would help control the population of herbivores and smaller predators, such as cats and foxes.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@SonLucasX Difficult for sure! The video that I'm working on at the moment will discuss that topic!

[@SonLucasX]

@@Eco-Nerd That's cool, I'm looking forward to this video!

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@SonLucasX Thank you! Thanks for checking this one out 👍

[@Tarzantravelsbyriver]

The cats in australia have grown larger very quickly to hunt bigger prey. Dingoes are a naturalized predator species, and when we don't damage their pack structures by hunting them, they do a very good job of moderating other species, especially cats and foxes. If humans could let them alone, and find non fatal solutions to protect their domestic animals, we wouldn't really have the need to bring more variables into the equation. But i agree that pumas would be a beneficial introduction, mostly in places like hawaii that have massive deer overpopulation; and no predators other than humans.

[@geofflepper3207]

I read that in Florida there was some public support for bringing back cougars to control the wild pig population. Cougars can cause a danger to humans but wild pigs were reportedly causing a lot of problems.

[@TheLateleks]

Fire is good for most Australian ecosystems, the native plants are evolved to have bushfires at an apprpriate rate and intensity.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@TheLateleks Yeah there are a lot of fire adapted plants in Australia. Some of that is because firestick farming has been practiced for thousands of years to clear landscapes, which in turn favours fire adapted plants. Fires are still a huge problem in Australia though, wild fires are bad for lots of plants, animals and humans

[@bkjeong4302]

Reintroduce Komodo dragons. They actually used to live alongside the extant native fauna. One thing to note is that hooves cause more soil erosion, so while Australian ecosystems should have big herbivores, they probably shouldn’t have hoofed herbivores.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@bkjeong4302 Yeah, that's what my next video will be about! Thanks for watching 😎

[@petrairene]

The camels don't have hooves and cause significant damage by overgrazing.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@petrairene Camels have hooves. Also, define “overgrazing”-because modern Australian ecosystems actually developed in the context of having large grazers and browsers. Of course if the foraging patterns of nonnative herbivores is different from those of extinct native herbivores it would genuinely be bad for the ecosystem, but do we know that’s the case here?

[@petrairene]

@@bkjeong4302 These large grazers died out for some ecological reason. And I doubt it was only human hunting.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@petrairene Given that many of them survived Australia’s desertification (though many of them did not), humans were almost certainly the defining factor in the total loss of Australian megafauna.

[@hisownfool1]

Twenty-three million feral pigs? The U.S. has an estimated six million and our feral swine are considered to be out of control.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@hisownfool1 Yep it's crazy, isn't it? USA is way more than 10 times more densely populated by humans than Australia so it's a lot harder for feral pigs to spread in America. There's also way more predators that can hunt them in the U.S. Thanks for watching the video 😎

[@hisownfool1]

@@Eco-Nerd Chief among those predators are Americans with guns. 😀

[@hisownfool1]

That's a good point. Also, a lot of those potential American predators are armed with guns.😀 The state with the most feral pigs, Texas, has more people than Australia in less than 10 percent of the land area.

[@dv9239]

Free food

[@thenerdbeast7375]

Honestly if dingoes could stop being persecuted, they'd easily handle all these animals. While not as big and powerful as wolves they are comparable to dholes and african wild dogs, which are effective pack hunters capable of taking very lsrge prey. If we gove dingoes time and space, they'll likely adapt and start running in larger packs to take on these large ungulates with increased regularity.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@thenerdbeast7375 Totally agree with you! Even without direct predation, herbivore populations are lower where large predators are present because of the ecology of fear.

[@brandonguerrero115]

Agreed on the Komodo dragons

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@brandonguerrero115 Thanks for watching! I'll be discussing that in my next video 😉

[@Timmothy_plays]

So I've taken a few things from this: 1: Camels are practically native for Australia in all but name, and are only missing a natural predator to keep their population in check. 2: Megafauna in general that have been introduced have for the most part melded very well into Australia's ecosystem, with the exception of Feral Pigs and Wild Goats, which in my opinion should have a concentrated effort to be hunted down into vastly lower numbers. 3: Dingoes seem to ironically be the answer to the 'missing natural predator' for many of the mentioned Megafauna, considering Dingoes are technically invasive species! but I guess at this point they're earning their spot into becoming an honorary native species of Australia. But ya know, I guess the reason why so many of the Megafauna that have been introduced have fit in almost naturally into the ecosystem was because Australia once had Megafauna in the past that had gone extinct, so that's why even the environment seems to 'accept' many of them as if they're just filling in the role of the extinct Megafauna. But yeah, Wild Horses need to be manually reduced by humans, same goes with Wild Goats, and there definitely needs to be an actual concentrated effort in reducing the Feral Pig population.

[@megazillasaurus]

having ungulates and carnivorans (except pinnipeds) in australia is not good because i want australia to be unique

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@megazillasaurus There are definitely a lot of people who would agree with you on that!

[@dragonboytsubasa]

Australia in its current state could benefit from 1 or 2 more predator animal species being introduced in a regulated manner. Yes, you are correct in that we need to preserve the uniqueness of Australia's native wildlife, but we also need to control the feral animal populations, and sadly this can't be done with human intervention alone.

[@user-mn5tt8wk6f]

@@dragonboytsubasa which the dingo serves... introducing ANOTHER carnivoran mammal id argue would be an extremely bad idea, foxes and cats are also technically predators, and to solve one invasive with another invasive? Well just look at how it turned out for New Zealand..

[@dragonboytsubasa]

@@user-mn5tt8wk6f they are but one animal. I agree that dingoes, along with perenties, help curb fox and cat numbers (But even then there's too many), but if we're talking feral prey animals like rabbits, goats and deer, dingoes aren't enough to control them. Which is why Australia could benefit from another 1 or 2 more new predators. But, I also said any new animals that are introduced need to be done so in a regulated manner so as not to have their populations spiral out of control.

[@IbexWatcher]

Great video! I appreciate the comprehensive discussion and I think a case-by-case look at different introduced species is a good way to cover it. Keep it up :)

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@IbexWatcher Thank you! I appreciate that 😎

[@sidneyvandykeii3169]

With all these large non native herbivores living in Australia. I am curious if the Dingos will be bigger on average in a few hundred years.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@sidneyvandykeii3169 Good question! You'd think so as long as humans stop persecuting them

[@expertfrenchtoast3480]

they are! western dingos, in areas where they have been targeted, are larger than eastern dingos. I can try dig up the study saying do if you want.

[@oftin_wong]

It would be hard to argue they are filling the same ecological role in such a completely changed vegetation complex and climate between the two time periods

[@samuelruakere7728]

I feel as tho' if say a large predator was to be introduced the bad effects these animals have would be less then what they are now.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@samuelruakere7728 my next video will be discussing that 😎

[@ryaquaza3offical]

It’s nice to see someone actually weigh the benefits and negatives of non-native species. I know it’s the point of the video but I rarely see people weigh the good and bad these days. Floridians im looking at you

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@ryaquaza3offical Thank you! I think most non-native species that establish themselves are bad for biodiversity but not always and often they're only damaging because humans have already damaged the ecosystem so badly

[@quitlife9279]

An important thing to consider is that asutralia's wildlife has simply been isolated for too long and became uncompetitive, if any mammal predator from the main continents gets introduced then the likely effect would be the extinction of native herbivores, which will likely be dying out before any significant predation is exerted on those introduced herbivores which have evolved with the placental predators. But yes even with the extinction of native australian animals it will rejuvenate the greater ecosystem.

[@bryanfarrell2029]

Great video, nice to see a balanced take on the positive and negative effects of the non-native animal populations in Oz for once! Too many people are either "kill 'em all" or "save' em all" and neither approach is realistic or beneficial. As you mention in the video, population control is key!

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@bryanfarrell2029 Thanks Bryan!

[@ethandoingstuff1433]

The problem is, the dingo, which is the indigineous dog, was common place across australia. But nowadays they are exterminated so farmers dont have to deal with them. All these megafauna can’t really be good for the ecosystem if they dont have predators :(

[@jaybazza248]

great video, i could listen to you say Barramundi all day, lovely hearing a documentary on our country from a knowledgeable accent

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jaybazza248 Thanks very much! I'll try add barramundi in to my videos more often 🤣

[@cro-magnoncarol4017]

The problem is there's no really large carnivores to control the large herbivore population, Yeah, there's Dingos but I don't think they're bringing down any adult camels or horses anytime soon...

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@cro-magnoncarol4017 Yeah I think so too! Dingoes are really important though and by far the best at taking down the introduced herbivores

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

They should introduce tigers to the far northern areas as an apex predator, since that niche isn't being properly filled.

[@WhiteJadeTiger98]

They honestly should just bring in Lions to deal with the bovines, horses, and donkeys. It is what they specialize in hunting after all... Besides, the bigger, the better as far as they're concerned... So they'd definitely deal with the camels pretty efficiently. Also, lions wouldn't even bother with anything smaller than a kangaroo. Komodo dragons used to have relatives in Australia until we wiped them out after arriving, so they could definitely be used to control water buffalo and feral pig populations that's what they prefer to go for. The deer and goats would likely have to be dealt with using more creative methods. Interesting how we think humans caused the most recent mass extinction yet we can't eradicate invasive species...🤔 Maybe we don't deserve the blame for that? 🤨

[@Tybold63]

Another proof of how beneficial predators are. If I am not mistaken there was an example of how wolves return (or higher numbers?) in Yellowstone made wonders to whole eco system...

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Tybold63 Yep that's correct! The dingo fence in Australia actually displays a perfect example of that. South of the dingo fence has a huge issue with kangaroos and invasive herbivores and also feral predators. North of the dingo fence, kangaroo densities are ideal and there's far fewer foxes and feral cats. Dingoes are hugely important in Australia even though they were once introduced

[@harnessancientwisdom]

That's a cool video. Australia is so unusual in many regards. Florida would also be interesting 🙏🏼

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@harnessancientwisdom Thank you! Yeah, a million videos could be made on Florida!

[@jointcerulean3350]

Great video! Also Cuban crocodiles would be great candidates as taxon substitutes in Australia, surrogates for the fully Terrestrial ziphodont land crocodile quinkana. Cuban crocodiles are terrestrial adapt apex carnivores that used to live in fully terrestrial ecosystems in terrestrial Bahaman landscapes and terrestrial landscapes in the Dominican Republic which would be another good rewilding locations for Cuban crocodiles. Also indeed Komodo dragons would be excellent candidate for rewilding since Komodo’s evolved in Australia and would be like something similar with wolfs in yellowstone. Also there was also another giant ziphodont land croc besides quinkana from late Pleistocene floraville. Also there was a Pleistocene terrestrial dwarf crocodile similar to mekosuchus from mount Mt Etna. The second most terrestrial crocodiles the dwarf crocodiles of west and central Africa would be good cabotage’s for that dwarf crocodile from Australia, probably in rainforest in cape York and the Dantree rainforest. Would be cool to see Cuban crocodile mentioned in a future video on rewilding in Australia, and the Bahamas and Dominican Republic. Also the South Pacific islands were terrestrial tree climbing dwarf mekosuchine crocodiles once were present, and how the three species of dwarf crocs from Africa would be good taxon substitutes.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jointcerulean3350 Really cool idea about the Cuban Crocodiles! My next video will actually look in to predator introductions in Australia but I didn't mention Cuban Crocodiles in the script and I have it recorded now! I think, they would be risky though in that they'd threaten the two crocodile species in Australia already because they're still predominantly a water based predator even though they're better on land than other modern crocodiles and they would only be capable of living in the habitats where crocodiles are already found in Australia. What do you think?

[@jointcerulean3350]

@Eco-Nerd That’s Awesome! Also regarding the Cuban crocodile, it is actually a predominantly terrestrial species and the current Cuban crocodile spend more time on land than in the water, and have a lot of terrestrial adaptations for hunting terrestrial prey which the Cuban crocs once preyed on ground sloths on Cuba and the Dominican Republic in the past and we’re larger. And Fascinatingly indeed, Cuban crocodile are actually terrestrial adept carnivores and were living in fully terrestrial ecosystems in the past on the Bahamas, and Dominican Republic, and were also found even in the Cayman Islands as well. Regarding the terrestrial nature of the Cuban crocodile, a paper studying the bones of Cuban crocodiles from the blue holes in the Bahamas, looked at the stable isotopes found in the bones of these Cuban crocodile fossils, and they found that Cuban crocodiles were living in a terrestrial food web rather than aquatic. Source, The paper is called “domination by reptiles in a terrestrial food web of the Bahamas prior to human occupation.” They have many adaptations namely there tall deep broad skull long recurved compressed teeth quite similar to tyrannosaurid teeth, also crooked bite margins, heavily keeled limbs and many osteoderms, shorter tail, long very powerful legs and arms. The ones at the guama crocodile farm have the most important genetics, having the most terrestrial features, and more expressed features, and the ones at the guama croc farm have Insane squamosal horns, looking very much like a living voay robustus. Cuban crocodiles are the closest modern analogy to quinkana, and other terrestrial mekosuchines, sebecids, and Planocraniids. Also the best way to conserve the Cuban crocodile would be to selectively breed the ones for the guama croc farm which have the most genetic diversity and terrestrial genes having the longest limb proportions, agility, speed, and morphological features. And Eventually starting a rewilding reintroduction plan into terrestrial landscapes they once’s inhabited like the Bahamas, but they would first need to reintroduced the other key stone species like Hutia rodents, rock iguanas, red footed and yellow footed tortoises, flightless rails, and so forth. There has actually been talks, plans of reintroducing Cuban crocodiles back into terrestrial landscapes of the Bahamas it was in an article called “rewilding reptiles to eco engineer the anthropocene.” Also Cuban crocodiles from the guama crocodile farm stock would also be a good taxon substitute for the terrestrial ziphodont land crocodile quinkana. Also have the other sources for the Cuban crocodiles actually living in fully terrestrial ecosystems and are more terrestrial than one might expect, this is due to the American crocodiles finding ways into the Cuban crocodiles swamp habitat, and genes no longer found in the wild and captive populations outside of Cuba. Sources “Florida museum RARE, BEAUTIFUL & FASCINATING: 100 YEARS @FLORIDAMUSEUM Blue Hole Reptiles” “Florida Museum Fossils from Bahamian Blue Hole may give clues to early life“ “Fossils from Bahamian Blue Hole may give clues to early life“ I’ll have to find the source on the genetic data on Cuban crocodiles. But the ones at the guama croc farm are what the Cuban crocodile actually look like in appearance, stature, like proportions, and speed and terrestrial agility. The Cuban crocodiles is the most ecologically and morphological the most distinct crocodile as well as the highly aquatic gharial. Cuban crocodiles are more significant since the species can live in terrestrial and semi Aquatic environments. Currently living in semi terrestrial ecosystems in the zapata swamp. It would have to be reintroduced in Australia inland were there would be lack of aquatic environments but enough water for it to persist as a terrestrial adapt carnivore and will adapt and evolve to a fully terrestrial ecosystem as it did in the Bahamas and Dominican Republic. Though indeed the Cuban crocodile is not as highly specialized or evolved to the point of quinkana or mekosuchus which were strictly terrestrial, the Cuban croc is still adapted for a a terrestrial ecosystem but is still able to live in aquatic biomes but is dependent on terrestrial prey such as huita which makes up 80 to 90% of its diet. 👍

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jointcerulean3350 Wow! That's really cool! Thanks for all the info. It would be really cool to see them introduced to the Bahamas and anywhere else they once lived!!

[@joshuagonzalez4183]

@@jointcerulean3350 that’s honestly an great idea! :D

[@brad1669]

I've heard that the presents of predators isn't just about population control, but also about changing behaviour. It would be interesting to know if dingoes change the behaviour of feral cattle etc

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@brad1669 Yeah, the ecology of fear is more important than the amount of animals taken by predators. That's what changes the behaviour of herbivores and reduces the risk of overgrazing. I'm sure if dingoes are present it would change the behaviour of cattle to a certain extent anyway but I haven't read any paper mentioning how much of an affect they have

[@FromTheGong]

There are some in Australia who prioritise the protection of feral invasive species over our native flaura and forna. Some, an extremely vocal and often aggressive minority threaten the lives of those attempting to eradicate or reduce the population of feral horses which have caused irreversible destruction of peatlands and caused the extinction of native aquatic and terrestrial species. Namely the Pro Brumby (feral horse) Association. Some deer hunters deliberately target native Dingoes because they prey on young deer and keep populations under control and purposely introduce feral deer to new environments for their own benifits.

[@yasutakaimai157]

While I agree that native species should be more prioritized, I don't see dingo as a native species. It was brought by humans, and contributed in extinctions of several species from mainland Australia most notably thylacine.

[@FromTheGong]

@@yasutakaimai157 Research the definition of native species and what classifies a species as native or non native. Dingoes are as native as Kangaroos and are regarded as an essential keystone species as apex predator. You are completely wrong in regards to Dingoes on all of your points, including being responsible for species extinction. It's now known what caused the die out of thylacines and devils, and it wasn't Dingoes, that's easy enough to find info on. All research has shown Dingoes are essential for the survival of small to medium native species for a number of reasons, you can easily find that out for yourself also. Studies show where Dingoes remain uncontrolled native species locally extinct or threatened in dingo absent environments thrive and are in abundance. Native quolls can only survive outside of feral proof reserves where there are resident dingo packs, they like smaller native mammals are also not prey species of Dingoes, they have enough roos to keep them happy. Also stock predation is minimal to zero where Dingoes are not controlled due to the absence of younger wandering dingoes, hunting skills must be learnt from parents and livestock are only attacked due to dingo packs being eradicated allowing uncontrolled numbers of younger Dingoes which would be killed at birth or trained in native predation in pack situations. Sheep are seen as an easy prey to untrained predators and because lamb and sheep meat is unpalatable to Dingoes they will kill multiple sheep at a time to 'taste test' until they figure out they all taste like crap. Where Dingoes are heavily controlled or eradicated dominant species present are unsustainable populations of roos and wallabies as well as other feral herbivores, European rabbits, pigs, red foxes and feral cats. Established dingo packs do not accept trespassing on their territory and will hunt down to kill or chase out any fox or wandering young Dingoes as well as prey on cats and their kittens. Land erosion is not present due to native herbivores controlled and almost all non native herbivores absent. Native species have evolved to coexist in balance with dingoes and have evolved natural defence against attack. Cats and foxes have free reign because our native species have not learnt and defence techniques against introduced predators which attack differently. Newer technology has allowed more accurate dating and origination which has completely proven the arrival by boat 3,500 years ago false. That was never proven either, only hypothesised as at the time the most likely entry here. It's now known Dingoes naturally migrated south from New Guinea using the former land bridge that existed when Australia Tasmania and New Guinea were joined as the continent SAHUL between 8-15,000 years ago with newer dating suggesting even earlier. Exactly the same as the first marsupials migrated from South America through Antarctica to Australia when they were all joined as Gondwana. Exactly the same as marsupials, Dingoes evolved into their own unique canid species due to isolation. The closest living canid to Dingoes is the New Guinea Singing Dog.

[@yasutakaimai157]

@@FromTheGong no. Dingo is not completely classified as native in every Australian states most notably Western Australia. Dingo is definitely NOT biologically native. Without humans, there wouldn't have been dingo in Australia. Dingo isn't even a definitive wild species. Biologically, they are more of feral animals that have naturalized in Australia.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@FromTheGong I watched a couple of documentaries on the feral horse debate in Australia, some of the arguments and behaviour on the pro-brumby side are absolutely ridiculous. That's the extreme side of things of course. I can understand wanting to keep some Brumbies in Australia but for so many reasons, the population just has to be managed. Yeah some people who claim to love nature only want to have lots of the species they hunt unfortunately 🙄

[@FromTheGong]

@@yasutakaimai157 Like Qld, Dingoes are classified as protected native species inside national parks, wild dogs outside of N. P. The reason for this is to allow continued government and state government 1080 dingo/wild dog poison baiting and trapping in agricultural environments as well as allowing property owners to eradicate by humane means any Dingoes on their property. It also eliminates the need for councils to apply for native animal control authority to eradicate problem Dingoes immediately. The declassification outside of national parks is purely for the benefit of sheep producers to prevent stock loss. Which only occured after uncontrolled eradication began. So yes, officially WA recognises Dingoes as a native species but are listed as an invasive species similar to how rainbow Lorikeets are listed as an invasive species in WA. Which of course are a native species but not of aboriginal (simply means land of origin of flora, fauna and humans) of WA.

[@lasagnapig630]

a pointless question. even if they did have some positives, we arent even close to understanding all of the intricacies about the native wildlife and ecosystems. we are no better than monkeys throwing darts at a board every time we suggest supporting invasive species.

[@abdulazizrex]

Apex predators like lions can help reduce the numbers of large predators and are also easier to remove from an ecosystem.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@abdulazizrex I'll be discussing predator introduction in my next video 😎

[@Richard-gy1pq]

Already a few species of big wild cats.

[@OneAmongBillions]

Thank you for this very interesting, comprehensive video. Great work!

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@OneAmongBillions Thank you 😎

[@jthomas8263]

Scrub Cattle are not Extinct Aurochs or Tauros Project Type Cattle, but They're all European Domesticated Cattle.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jthomas8263 No they're not an Aurochs project or anything intentional! But all domestic cattle are descended from the aurochs and some of the Scrub Cattle now look like the Aurochs. They're a mix of European Cattle and Zebu Cattle

[@jthomas8263]

@@Eco-Nerd Mixture of a Brown Swiss or Angus Cattle and a Zebu.

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

@jthomas8263, They (meaning the scrub cattle) as well as the Bantengs and the water buffaloes should be rounded up and brought to the mainland USA as well as the big island of Hawaii. The wild camels 🐪 in Australia would be happier in the desert areas of the U.S.-Mexican border, especially in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas. Any pie-bald as well as skewbald brumbies, especially any on Frazier Island would probably feel more at home on Assateague Island off the coast of Virginia in the USA, since they have cousins living on that island in question.

[@unstoppableExodia]

The abundance of invasive medium to large ungulates in Australia opens up a niche for feral cats to get bigger and bigger. There’s a very real selection pressure that rewards the cats that grow biggest as they can hunt larger prey that is more abundant than smaller prey that cats and foxes have been decimating. The other advantage that growing larger gives feral cats is they would be able to better defend themselves against dingo attack. With enough time they could grow to be Puma sized, possibly larger given the abundance of large prey they could hunt

[@RUBPROMAL]

I Really liked this video. I will show them to Tsuki, a different ecologicial youtuber

[@Eco-Nerd]

Thank you!

[@IndigoPuma]

Great video! Also in Australia, we pronounce Kosciuszko "ko-zee-o-skow". Took me a moment to realise which national park you were talking about, lol.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@IndigoPuma Thanks 🤣 I fixed it in the next video I believe!

[@moza337]

Many comments argue "we should bring the Komodo dragon to Australia", Dudeee, I visited Komodo Island 3 years ago and saw with my eyes Komodo dragons eating goats weighing 70 ± kg in one go, the residents there are often attacked by Komodo dragons and most of them end up dead.

[@a.m11558]

It's definitely keystone. I don't see many introduced species as problematic save for cane toads, rabbits, and (more arguably) feral cats. The issue is that we will eventually need at least one species of large terrestrial carnivore in Australia to help mitigate herbivore numbers, I would suggest jaguars as the ideal choice. They are roughly the same size as the extinct Thylacoleo and also have similar lifestyles and killing methods. But I doubt the Aus Government would ever introduce them unfortunately.

[@Infinity-eb6mx]

Jaguars would be awesome :-) Also, attacks on humans by Jaguars are relatively rare. But yeah, can't imagine the Guvmint greenlighting that one, shame.....

[@L-Thatcher]

My assessment. Donkeys, Cattle and Camels - Reduce population slightly Horse - reduce population more aggressively Deer, Pigs and Goats - eradicate

[@tktyga77]

The stuff covered are yet more reasons to supplement the landscape & conservation work with hunting in the Anzac region & others, especially with first people's involvement & the ATSI help in the case of Australia & the Torres Straits islands plus nearby such as Tasmania & the islands in between

[@merrygomouse]

Not sure about the references to reducing fire, in most cases these species make fires worse. By grazing palatable species and leaving often unplaltable species, which are more flammable. Also grazing of ground covers and shrubs increases drying of the soils, therefore increasing flammability. I haven't heard any science indicating these species reduce fires in their habitats.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@merrygomouse Grasses that aren't grazed, get long and dry out creating lots of flammable vegetation and dry grasses are one of the main reasons for wildfires in Australia. Some of those animals eat coarse, flammable vegetation as well. There are many projects in the world that use grazers to prevent wildfires and it's a fairly well established practice. Iberia and Sardinia are some examples off the top of my head. Certain station owners in Australia allow donkeys on their land as they've shown to reduce wildfires. Overgrazing sees to the drying out of soils but undergrazing can often do the same thing. Where ruminants are present in the right densities, they've shown to increase soil moisture levels. Mob grazing is a widely used method by farmers nowadays in arid regions of the world and has shown to increase soil fertility and moisture.

[@patrickmaline4258]

the folks who actually are civilized have been pushed out by the people who will tell you they are civilized while they’re taking your land.

[@davidscanlon6929]

Doing a great job mate

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@davidscanlon6929 Thanks David 🙌

[@wonderman7166]

So we can all agree that *DINGOS* are the true *Apex Predators* of Australia 🇦🇺🐾

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@wonderman7166 For sure! I would say there are two to be fair, dingoes and Saltwater Crocodiles but dingoes have a much bigger range so they can definitely claim first place 🥇

[@Infinity-eb6mx]

@@Eco-Nerd Wedge Tail Eagles would be near the top of the food chain too.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Infinity-eb6mx Definitely! They don't take down water ɓuffalo or foals though so I'd say they're a level below Dingoes! Perenties have been known to take down adult kangaroos as well

[@idontcarebbkdafander1597]

I best Jaguar would be good for camels cougars might actually be better as they Hunt big limas and can live in the deserts as well as cougars but at the same time jaguars are goin in water as well while hunting black camin but that won’t really do as much against any salty thinking about it tho jaguars could hunt feral pigs they do hunt tapirs and no dingo pack would mess with a jaguar realistically and I do believe both cats would be damaging to kangaroos with their speed and ambush so that’s a negative

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@idontcarebbkdafander1597 Yeah it's interesting! My next video will be discussing that 😎

[@idontcarebbkdafander1597]

@@Eco-Nerd wow cool

[@user-st3mr9ov2b]

...Meanwhile, trophy hunters & Chinese 'medicine', hunts endangered animals?!

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

I know just what you mean by that remark.

[@Brunavargen]

Wonderful video! As a Master in Ecology and Conservation I find Australia and its many introduced species to be very interesting. I had no idea there were so many of them! Very interesting that the dingo is playing such an important part in the management of the non-native megafauna. I wonder if we might see different populations of dingos adapting to hunting even the largest of ungulates. Given the huge variation in size and behaviour between wolf subspecies it does not seem too far fetched.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Brunavargen Thank you very much! Me too, I find Australia fascinating. A unique fauna now being forced to interact with so many introduced animals! Yeah it's amazing what the dingoes are doing. All while still being persecuted. Increasingly there is more protection of dingoes in Australia (different states have different laws) and hopefully as protection increases they'll spread their distribution and be a natural control for the introduced herbivores

[@gabrielg.2401]

Excellent topic and footage.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@gabrielg.2401 Thank you! I can't take any credit for the footage other than putting it all together 😎

[@648Roland]

Herds of camels DO completely destroy small soaks that are the sole source of water for so many native creatures over large areas of the mostly arid inland and therefore massive loss of life.

[@Nate_Luke]

I think lions would be an effective predator. The endangered Asian lion would be a good candidate

[@Eco-Nerd]

Yeah that could be a good introduction! Plenty of good options I think but every one would be difficult for different reasons

[@noneed4sleep64]

We already tried introducing foreign predators to eat foreign pests, it doesn’t work. Both cats and red foxes targeted native species instead.

[@Nate_Luke]

@noneed4sleep64 Lions generally tackle big game. Especially ungulates which right now outnumber even the largest marsupial herbivores. So I don't think that would put much pressure on the native wildlife. Leopards or puma or jaguars on the other hand, that's a different story. They are generalists unlike lions. That's my thoughts though I could be wrong.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@noneed4sleep64 To be fair, foxes were introduced for sport for hunting. Cats were brought over on ships as they were the control for rodents on ships. Neither were introduced to Australia to control invasive species. They are both very bad for Australia though!!

[@noneed4sleep64]

@@Eco-Nerd foxes were brought over for hunting, and to control the rabbits that had already been introduced and were out of control. Cats were brought over to do the same job they did on the ships.

[@kenemail3936]

One way of looking at these ferral beasties is if we really needed them for food.

[@XenoRaptor-98765]

Will Australia’s ecosystem improve when thylacines are released into the wild after the de-extinction process is ‘ perfected’?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@XenoRaptor-98765 They should improve it, especially in Tasmania but they won't really have an impact on the large herbivores mentioned in this video. They only weighed about 20 kg (it used to be thought that they were significantly heavier but the best knowledge now puts them at around 20 kg) and they preyed on animals smaller than themselves, only occasionally going for bigger animals, similar to the behaviour of foxes. And predators like that only really go for larger prey when little danger is posed to them, like a deer fawn that's been left alone for example. All the same, I can't wait until they're brought back and I'm really eager to see how they'll effect the ecosystem! Hope that answers your question a bit 😊

[@sarantissporidis391]

There's strong evidence that cats are stepping in to become the apex predator. There are reports of much larger cats than usual. I think that we will have to wait a really long time for this though... Great video.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@sarantissporidis391 Thanks for watching! Yep, it's really cool, there are definitely some larger cats being recorded and they're even hunting small wallabies. I think as dingoes and other predators are given protection and allowed to spread back over Australia that will slow down the growth in cats though. Wedge-Tailed Eagles, Dingoes, Perenties and even invasive Red Foxes are all capable of taking larger prey than feral cats

[@tadblackington1676]

​@@Eco-NerdDingos might not slow down the size increase in feral cats. Dingos are pursuit predators, cats are ambush predators so they actually occupy pretty distinct niches and might not exclude each other.

[@shikouji]

was not ready for the accent, defs subscribed because of it

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@shikouji Haha thank you 😎

[@Latenivenatrix_Mcmasterae]

The video can be summed up to; population control and dingoes. So allowing dingoes to roam free again and, like what others have said, another form of population control could potentially be komodo dragons since they were not only once native to Australia but also their much larger brothers, the Megalania, use to roam Australia and themselves were a form of population control

[@LindaCooper-i3f]

Komodo Dragons on the prowl in the Australian outback? Anyone turning them loose there would have to have bats 🦇 in their belfries to begin with, unless they were just limited to the swamplands of Queensland and the Northern Territory. If only the saltwater crocodiles of the Fitzroy River could possibly be captured and then released into those very same swamplands as well, and thereby making it safer for the humans who make their homes along the riverbank of the Fitzroy?

[@peteracton2246]

Agreed that mostly the damage done by these species outweighs the benefits. The Banteng have been cited as an important "pure" reserve population, however conservation within the species native range would be more desirable, if possible.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@peteracton2246 Yeah that's true! Annoyingly I came across a paper after I had made this video, showing that Banteng are quite beneficial in Australia, possibly even the most beneficial. Pity I hadn't seen it before hand to include a bit about it

[@peteracton2246]

@@Eco-Nerd Thanks for a very interesting channel.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@peteracton2246 That's nice of you to say! Thank you Petet 😊

[@EyeSeeThruYou]

Florida's amazing habitats are drowning under introduced plants and animals (most of which have become invasive). We need more help, and are trying what we can to at least control the introduced invasives such as pythons, cats, lionfish, Brazilian pepper, and Australian pine.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@EyeSeeThruYou Yeah Florida really seems to be one of the most badly effected places in the world

[@EyeSeeThruYou]

@@Eco-Nerd And Hawaii, too 😔

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@EyeSeeThruYou Definitely!

[@nickclark208]

There is a rumour in the blue mountains that feral cats are become larger. About as big as Rottweilers roaming around the blue mountains so if it’s true we have a predator similar to the marsupial lion

[@Ykskolme]

Dingos also were invasive animals, but arent often cosidered as such seeing as theyve been to Australia few thousands years

[@Usurper123]

So Australia needs a larger Predator. The should start a pilot project to bring in some Asiatic Lions. They naturally live in arid areas and if they work out they could really use the increased numbers and new habitat.

[@shamar8411]

No one in Australia should ever be hungry. Free meat everywhere

[@feldspar393]

A nice watch. A minor nitpick would be that the scientific names aren’t formatted quite right. The second word (specific epithet), should not be capitalized.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@feldspar393 Thank you! Thanks yeah I know that's how a scientific name should be written. I just capitalised the first letter of all the words ie "Max Weight" 😊

[@feldspar393]

@@Eco-Nerd I figured you probably knew. Cheers.

[@yasutakaimai157]

Nice to see that you actually featured benefits of introduced species where people in Australia often "prioritize" dingo as "native" and "crucial" fauna while they advocate to eradicate other introduced faunas.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@yasutakaimai157 Thank you!

[@dragonboytsubasa]

Komodo dragons and cheetahs would have to be introduced carefully into Australia, such as by starting off in enclosures. Komodo dragons can fill the niche that megalania once used to, and take care of larger ungulates, whereas cheetahs can help control goat, deer, rabbit and other feral small animal populations.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dragonboytsubasaYeah, I think if itb were to ever be considered it would have to initially be in large enclosures to see study the effects. I'll be discussing predator introductions in the next video! Komodo dragons themselves were also once in Australia and would've lived alongside Megalania

[@seanpatterson8600]

Great video bri

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@seanpatterson8600 Thank you!

[@JustOneKnight]

Enjoyed.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@JustOneKnight Thank you 😎

[@jhndr0nia]

Invasive species can never replace extinct taxa. Since the extinction, the ecosystem already changed. So I really don't see sense in introducing substitutes. However, since Australia seems to be out of balance it might not cause as much damage as in a functional ecosystem

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jhndr0nia I'd disagree with you on the first part. Aldabra Giant Tortoises were introduced to Mauritius as a proxy for the extinct native tortoise and they completely revitalised the ecosystem there. The vast majority of ecosystems in the world are very damaged and biodiversity loss is happening at an enormous rate so I don't think ecosystems having changed is a good reason not to think about introducing proxies for extinct animals. If anything, the loss in biodiversity and ecosytem function is the exact reason it needs to be looked in to

[@arthurblackhistoric]

Why don't we farm the wild cattle? I mean: they look strong and healthy enough. Why don't we farm the horses too? And the goats? If anyone can answer these questions, feel free to respond to my comment.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arthurblackhistoric The cattle and goats are hunted for their meat (the goats in particular are wrangled and butchered for their meat). The horses are also wrangled and various things are done with them (re-domesticated, used for rodeo or just rescued to live a life in a paddock). The cattle supposedly don't taste good, they're too lean and gamey compared to farmed meat which is typically slaughtered before 2 years old, they're also difficult to manage as they've never been handled by humans. So they are all used but there are difficulties in doing it all at once both financially and ethically. Hope that answers your question

[@arthurblackhistoric]

@@Eco-Nerd . . Yeah, thanks from a city slicker, LOL

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arthurblackhistoric 🤣 no worries

[@buryitdeep]

When are they getting the rhinos?

[@arkprice79]

@@buryitdeep what do you mean?

[@AnthonyMorris-pg9xj]

Rhinos would be great additions. Large browsers. They breed slowly so would not get out of control. Elephants might be good additions too.

[@buryitdeep]

@@arkprice79 Look up The Australian Rhino Project, together with Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and Taronga Conservation Society Australia, is currently working to expand the population of white rhinos in Australia and New Zealand to maintain a genetically diverse breeding crash.

[@ChimneyJuice]

@@arkprice79 Look up The Australian Rhino Project

[@Infinity-eb6mx]

Rhinos-R-Us.

[@lamebubblesflysohigh]

None of them have positive impact. Camels are eroding the fragile soil and drink huge quantities of water if given a chance. "Can eat" and "will eat" are two different things. They will not eat thorny plants if there are more palatable options nearby.... which is exactly what native animals would eat. This overgrazing of easy to eat plants leads to spread of thorny plants that only camels will eat. Also they are so big that when they die, they take a very long time to decompose which leads to a risk of anthrax contamination of the carcass which kills animals that come to chew on their bones for calcium.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@lamebubblesflysohigh What behaviours in camels do you think are different to the native megafauna of Australia? Native megafauna ate vegetation, drank water, left large carcasses on the landscape. Phascolonus gigas as one example, specifically lived in arid regions and ate low quality vegetation. Camels do definitely cause some damage but a lot of the damage they do is the exact same native megafauna would've done.

[@lamebubblesflysohigh]

@@Eco-Nerd well chiefly herding behavior. I doubt Phascolonus gigas was creating mobs of up to 150 animals, grazed everything around and drank a pool of water that would last for few weeks IN ONE SITTING.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@lamebubblesflysohigh I'm not certain whether Phascolonus gigas was a herd animal or not but they were very abundant. Many of the giant wombat relatives were herd animals. Yes camels drink a lot of water in one sitting and then don't drink again for long periods which is actually quite an efficient use of water, water left standing in periods of drought evaporates. If not camels, or any of the other introduced herbivores, then which large herbivores can fill the niches left vacant by the extinct megafauna? Australia became completely reliant on humans to manage the landscape through fire due to simply not having the herbivores to maintain the landscape. The largest extant native browser is the Swamp Wallaby, an animal weighing less than 15 kg, they lost so many trophic layers and ecological function. Fire isn't a sustainable or safe way of maintaining the landscape in modern Australia

[@deaththekid3998]

When we’ll finally be able to de-extinct species, we need to bring back the marsupial lion.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@deaththekid3998 That would be amazing!!

[@WattWasEyeDoing]

at 1:03 you can see one of the camels take a dump

[@eire-q8l]

Great video. Would be great to see a rewilding one on Ireland! (wolves, lynx etc.,) as well as any info on how eagles are contributing to the ecosystem again. Did a bit of research before on suitable location for wolves in the national parks, so would be great to hear your insights into how a reintroduction could work (if ever it can), and how much area would need to be rewilded.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@eire-q8l Thanks very much! I actually did a Rewilding Ireland video a few videos back, it's called "Rewilding Ireland: These 3 Animals must be Reintroduced". Don't know how much of an impact the eagles are having in Ireland yet. They're still really struggling to establish and sadly we're finding poisoned eagles still fairly regularly. Hopefully as the country sees that it's beneficial have them the population will grow. Seems like very slow growth for now

[@eire-q8l]

@@Eco-Nerd my bad must have missed it! Yeah spoke to someone with NPWS a few years ago and the Goldens were struggling a lot, not enough prey in the sheep and deer-grazed mountains. Fingers crossed though!

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@eire-q8l Yeah, there's really no prey there for them! And if they eat dead sheep they get the blame for killing them. To be fair if you go up a mountain in Ireland, there's no wildlife to see. Really saddening

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@eire-q8l Hopefully they'll see an upturn though! It's amazing that we have them back. The Eagles in Glengarriff have brought in loads of tourism so hopefully the rest of the country will see the benefits they bring

[@stevenleaney1262]

Hey what is your definition of megafauna I’m curious as it varies wildly

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@stevenleaney1262 Hey I guess in the case of this video I'm using the "any animal weighing more than 100 pounds (46 kg)" definition but yeah definitely there are plenty of different thresholds used. Animals over 1000 kg being one and animals over 10 kg being another 😊 I tend to use the 46kg/100 lb threshold and I believe (but could be wrong) that that's the original

[@LCCWPresents]

Eventually invasive species become intergrated into the ecosystem, even if they first damage it.

[@5stardave]

Wouldn't humans be considered an invasive species?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@5stardave Kind of depends on your definition of invasive species. If a species makes its own way to a country it's not classed as an invasive species by most. We use invasive species for the species humans have introduced and are damaging the ecosystem they've been introduced to

[@kadenbowdige2896]

What if we rewilded the South American savannah next please?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@kadenbowdige2896 It's on my list! Thanks for the recommendation 😎

[@abdulazizrex]

I would suggest temporarily introducing lions and spotted hyenas to deal with the plethora of large herbivores.

[@thebeef1278]

If dingos maintain as the only land predator they should eventually get pretty big to be able to prey on all the large game. We will finally have a big k9 back

[@graydoncarruth5044]

If a species has been “feral” for dozens of generations are they really feral?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@graydoncarruth5044 Good question! Anything that is descended from a domestic animal is considered feral so I guess technically yes. It's assumed that dingoes are descended from ancient domestic dogs though and I've never heard anyone call them feral so I suppose there is a cut off point 🤔

[@graydoncarruth5044]

@@Eco-Nerd the dingo question was exactly what was on my mind in saying that.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

Dingoes goes to show that Dogs are the Gods of the Animal Kingdom in every continent except Antarctica. For now.

[@GreenPoint_one]

Cats too xD Big, medium and small cats are on each continent too, except antarctica ;3

[@timothytumusiime2903]

I was about to suggest cheetahs as a predator but it wouldn't work The only thing there that cheetah can successfully hunt are deer. Others are too big

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@timothytumusiime2903 Yeah I think most of the animals would be too big as adults anyway for sure

[@johnking6252]

We came, we saw, we conquered usually not for the best. 🌎✌️🌍

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@johnking6252 🤣 That about sums it up

[@v1e1r1g1e1]

Dingoes were introduced into Australia in relatively recent times. (Less than 4,000 years ago. Some claim as long ago as 10,000 years ago, but the evidence for this is debated) The dingoes adjusted... the flora and fauna adjusted. So too will the situation be in a few thousand years' time. Meanwhile, relax. The cats are evolving. Within the next two centuries they will be huge enough to give the dingoes a run for their money when it comes to taking down mega fauna. Moggie-us Panthera Australis is on its way!

[@eliletts8149]

So it seems that the main issue with these introduced species is really that they have so few effective apex predators that would potentially prey upon them in Australia. Interesting.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@eliletts8149 Yeah it does seem to be a big part of the issue but even with predators, some of the animals would still be problematic!

[@eliletts8149]

@@Eco-Nerd it does seem so.

[@zehaha111]

Australia might actually be a place where it could be easier to introduce large predators, like Komodo dragons, lions and tigers in suiting habitats, to keep the numbers of the large herbivores in check. There is also plenty of space. But the big question is how this would impact the native species who could fall prey to them. With these numbers of camel, boar, horses, buffalo, deer and donkeys even big predators would have plenty to eat, especially because starting populations of these introduced predators would be small.

[@ryanridley554]

You can't determine anything on average by square kilometres or any other measure in the 'Outback' It is vast and encompasses a lot of different ecosystems. From someone who was born and grew up here you can go 100 metres and see a different environment

[@ryanridley554]

Camels are helpful because they eat thorny plants????!!! Fuck off, a lot of native species are thorny and let's spread the seeds that camels like to eat! Fuck off, Camels aren't native. I'm just hoping we can get a factory to accommodate the massive carcasses to sell the meat instead of it rotting in the bush

[@videoarchive490]

I know this is summarizing the video but honestly just a handful of large predators that are too big to bother with the smaller endemic prey animals would be be a great fix for Australia. I don't know the country's predator fossil record as well as I should but with a k9 already present it seems like several large cat species (and of course my childhood fave the komodo dragon) would do a lot of the course correcting themselves I think Australia is advanced enough socially and policy wise in terms of the environment to start becoming a secondary population harbor for lots of endangered or threatened predator species from Africa or Asia. Might be extreme or wishful thinking but I'd rather see the donkeys replaced with Asiatic or African rhinos even. Real mega fauna that can do the same amount of work with a lower population density to avoid the damage. Plus I'm positive Rhinos and even elephants padded feet would be less of an issue compared to the hard hooved alternatives In summary: Boot out those medium sized boys and bring in the real big lads to do the heavy lifting in Australia

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@videoarchive490 Yeah I'll be looking in to predator introduction in the next video! It does seem like it would be beneficial but I'm sure there are plenty of risks that would come with it and very difficult to convince people as well

[@1fishmob]

I think if these creatures ever hope to have a true role in the ecosystem that is not damaging, the introduction of megafaunal predators is needed. Lions would be an indeal candidate as they hunt all of these things (or close proxies), but Komodo Dragons are more realistic.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@1fishmob I'll be discussing that in my next video 👀

[@expertfrenchtoast3480]

There is a predator to fill the niche: Dingos. But instead they are targeted and killed by the gov

[@1fishmob]

@@expertfrenchtoast3480 The thing is, yes, Dingos do go after all these animals, they are not built to specialize in things larger than a deer. What's needed, is a predator that can go after camels/buffalo/horse in all stages of their life, foal & adult.

[@robertjackson1813]

Jeez australia is like Florida of invasive mammals....... There are a lot of invasive reptiles in florida

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@robertjackson1813 Yep that pretty much sums it up 🤣

[@quitlife9279]

So basically australia is minecraft, with the same ecosystem of feral domesticated animals running wild and no predators.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@quitlife9279 🤣🤣

[@royhay5741]

There are actually two separate subspecies of wild boar in Australia-the Papuan hog (Sus scrofa papuensis) and feral pig (Sus scrofa domesticus). Melanesians introduced Papuan hogs to Australia millennia ago. If dingoes are native, so are Papuan hogs.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@royhay5741 Hey, do you have a link to something I can read on that? From what I can see, domestic pigs in Papua new Guinea are domesticated Sulawesi Warty Pigs which aren't the same species as Wild Boar. I can't find anything about them getting to Australia before Europeans apart from a website called Alternative History which is a speculative history created by posters on the site??

[@royhay5741]

​@@Eco-NerdThere's a scientific article online called "Pre-Cookian Pigs in Australia" that proves Papuan hogs inhabit Australia. The Papuan hog is an ancient hybrid between banded pigs and Sulawesi warty pigs, like timber and red wolves are ancient hybrids between grey wolves and coyotes. Unfortunately, no one knows about Papuan hogs. I'm writing a Wikipedia article about them, which will also notify iNaturalist about their existence. Based on when dingoes got to the Torres Strait Islands, Papuan hogs probably got to mainland Australia at least 2,100 years ago. Most Australian Papuan hogs live in the Wet Tropics with species they've coexisted with for 10,000 in New Guinea. Unlike dingoes, Papuan hogs haven't caused any extinctions. They're threatened by feral pigs, which have replaced them in many places.

[@royhay5741]

​@@Eco-NerdThere's a scientific article online called "Pre-Cookian Pigs in Australia" that proves Papuan hogs inhabit Australia. The Papuan hog is an ancient hybrid between banded pigs and Sulawesi warty pigs, like timber and red wolves are ancient hybrids between grey wolves and coyotes. Unfortunately, no one knows about Papuan hogs. I'm writing a Wikipedia article about them, which will also notify iNaturalist about their existence. Based on when dingoes got to the Torres Strait Islands, Papuan hogs probably got to mainland Australia at least 2,100 years ago. Most Australian Papuan hogs live in the Wet Tropics with species they've coexisted with for 10,000 in New Guinea. Unlike dingoes, Papuan hogs haven't caused any extinctions. They're threatened by feral pigs, which have replaced them in many places. Rainforest Aborigines, dingoes, and saltwater crocodiles depend on Papuan hogs for survival.

[@royhay5741]

@@Eco-NerdThere's a scientific article online called "Pre-Cookian Pigs in Australia" that proves Papuan hogs inhabit Australia. The Papuan hog is an ancient hybrid between banded pigs and Sulawesi warty pigs, like timber and red wolves are ancient hybrids between grey wolves and coyotes. Unfortunately, no one knows about Papuan hogs. I'm writing a Wikipedia article about them, which will also notify iNaturalist about their existence. Based on when dingoes got to the Torres Strait Islands, Papuan hogs probably got to mainland Australia at least 2,100 years ago. Most Australian Papuan hogs live in the Wet Tropics with species they've coexisted with for 10,000 in New Guinea. Unlike dingoes, Papuan hogs haven't caused any extinctions. They're threatened by feral pigs, which have replaced them in many places.

[@royhay5741]

@@Eco-NerdThere's a scientific article online called "Pre-Cookian Pigs in Australia" that proves Papuan hogs inhabit Australia. The Papuan hog is an ancient hybrid between banded pigs and Sulawesi warty pigs, like timber and red wolves are ancient hybrids between grey wolves and coyotes. Unfortunately, no one knows about Papuan hogs. I'm writing a Wikipedia article about them, which will also notify iNaturalist about their existence. Based on when dingoes got to the Torres Strait Islands, Papuan hogs probably got to mainland Australia at least 2,100 years ago. Most Australian Papuan hogs live in the Wet Tropics with species they've coexisted with for 10,000 in New Guinea. Unlike dingoes, Papuan hogs haven't caused any extinctions. They're threatened by feral pigs, which have replaced them in many places.

[@erikm8372]

300k camels? I thought the number was closer to a million. 🤔 😆

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@erikm8372 You're actually correct in that I think. I'm seeing a few different figures online and on fairly official pages so it's hard to say what's right

[@ellenfarrell8293]

Hard to imagine a wombat the size of a zebra wondering around the place 😅

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@ellenfarrell8293 Pretty crazy!!

[@cait6461]

Could you imagine getting twerked to death by a massive wombat?

[@jeremywiggan7983]

What about the few ostrishes that roam Australia?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jeremywiggan7983 Really hard to find data on them! Doesn't seem like there are huge numbers or that they are a significant problem. They probably just go about their business and get on fine. Dingos sometimes hunt Emus and lots of Australian predators eat emu chicks and eggs so I'd imagine the same can be said about the ostriches

[@fuzzyhair321]

Australia is honestly missing a bear like species and bigger wolves. Dingos are just not big enough. But dont forget our birds. Wedgetails are dangerous even to human kids. I would imagine very soon certain small predators will grow bigger to replace key predators to help kill large mammals

[@arkprice79]

10:10 Do dingoes prey on any of the Feral ostriches and Blackbuck in Australia?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arkprice79 to be honest I don't know. It's very hard to find any data on ostriches or blackbuck. Blackbuck used to have a fairly significant population but have mostly been eradicated. They're definitely in the weight range of dingo prey. Ostriches have even less information. Ostriches used to be farmed in Australia and many were set free or escaped and there have been and probably still are small populations of them. Dingoes occasionally prey on emus so it's lively that they would to some extent. Many species in Australia eat emu chicks and eggs so there's a good chance ostrich chicks would be prey to those species as well

[@arkprice79]

@Eco-Nerd I think ostriches are quite successful in the Australian Environment due to the lack of large predators to hunt adults, unlike in Africa.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arkprice79 Yeah they could be but there isn't a large established population of them in Australia

[@arkprice79]

@@Eco-Nerd Well, that's a good thing then, isn't it

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@arkprice79 for sure! Especially as they already have some of the largest birds in the world in Australia in emus and cassowaries

[@YseaSumera]

You should discuss on reintroduction of trhinos