The Kangaroo Island dunnart (Sminthopsis aitkeni) is one of Australia’s most threatened small mammals, endemic to Kangaroo Island. It’s a tiny, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial, and before 2019, estimates placed its population at somewhere between 300 and 500 individuals. This earned it a spot on the IUCN’s Red List as Critically Endangered, as its entire population had been fragmented over a few isolated sites.
Then came the 2019 and 2020 “Black Summer” fires. Habitat-overlap analyses confirmed that approximately 95% of the dunnart’s known distribution was burned, around 90% of which was burned at high severity. When bushfires and smoke swept across Australia, many locals feared that the species would surely be doomed.
How This Marsupial Survived The Black Summer Fires
However, just a few months after the Black Summer fires were out, scientists uncovered something they never expected. With sensor cameras and field surveys, they found live dunnarts in previously scorched regions, and even on private lands outside the core habitat.
By April 2020, conservation groups had reported sightings on a 550-acre property in the De Mole catchment that had escaped the flames. This served as a small but vital refuge for the species; at the time, there were as few as 50 individuals that remained.
Thereafter, large-scale post-fire rescues and survey efforts began, which included the creation of a predator-free fenced refuge, known as Western River Refuge. This encompassed several hundred hectares of regrowing bushland. By late 2021, surveys inside that refuge showed significantly higher capture rates of native mammals, including dunnarts, than outside the fence.
Based on the data collected, there were four core reasons that the dunnart was able to survive — albeit only barely — the devastating fires:
1. Refugia And Unburned Patches
The single most important factor was the existence of refugia: small, scattered pockets of habitat that managed to escape the full force of the flames. These included unburned native vegetation, rocky outcrops, gullies and even low‑intensity burn zones on private properties.
Although they’re usually fragmented, and often incredibly small, they nevertheless provide critical shelter and food resources. For a cryptic nocturnal predator like the dunnart, these areas:
- Offered shelter and cover from raptors and feral cats
- Preserved insect prey populations
- Maintained the structural complexity of leaf litter and undergrowth
In the aftermath of the fires, these factors made the refugia akin to an ecological lifeboat for the dunnarts. They allowed individuals to persist until the surrounding vegetation was able to recover.
According to a 2022 study from the journal Australian Mammalogy, rainfall and post‑fire vegetation age are key predictors of dunnart occurrence, which underscores how these refugia aligned with the species’ ecological needs.
2. Rapid Construction Of Predator‑Free Zones
What was equally vital was how quickly humans intervened. Recognizing the acute risk of predation in a newly exposed landscape, conservation groups, landholders and the Australian Defence Force all worked together in order to establish predator‑proof fencing around one of the key refugia — the Western River Refuge — within weeks of the fires.
It was this swift action that created a safe haven for dunnarts and other small mammals to survive, without the added pressure of feral cats and foxes. By stabilizing populations in the short term, these fenced zones bought time for the broader landscape to regenerate. In turn, this ensured that survivors had a foothold from which they could repopulate.
3. Ecological Resilience And Life‑History Traits
The dunnart’s own biology also played a role. As a small, insect-eating marsupial, it’s able to exploit microhabitats like fallen logs, rock crevices and dense ground cover that may remain intact even in areas that have been affected by fires.
Its nocturnal and cryptic behavior reduces exposure to predators and human disturbance, which increases their chances of survival even in fragmented refugia. These traits, combined with the species’ ability to reproduce quickly under favorable conditions, mean that even small surviving populations have the potential to rebound if threats are managed.
4. Community Vigilance And Ongoing Monitoring
Survival was not a matter of chance alone. Post‑fire monitoring, camera trapping and coordinated conservation planning ensured that dunnart populations were protected and tracked. This vigilance allowed conservationists to adapt management strategies in real time, which only further reinforces the importance of human commitment alongside ecological factors.
In surveys within the refuge two years after the fire, native mammal captures roughly doubled compared to outside the fence. This is a hopeful signal that populations can rebound when predation and habitat risk are managed.
A New Threat To These Marsupials
However, since surviving the fires, a new danger has emerged for the dunnarts: feral cats. A 2022 analysis, published in Scientific Reports, evaluated the stomach contents of 86 feral cats trapped on Kangaroo Island between February and August 2020, just months after the fires. The remains of eight individual dunnarts were found in seven different cats.
This study provided the first confirmed evidence of predation on dunnarts after the Black Summer fires. In other words, this means that cats have swiftly moved into the remaining refugia and hunted some of the remaining survivors. Even a level of predation this small can represent a massive pressure on an already tiny population.
Why This Marsupial’s Survival Matters
While the survival of such a small and seemingly insignificant species might not matter to most people, it means the world to biologists and conservationists. Here’s what the dunnart has taught us:
- Refugia and rapid action give species hope. The dunnart’s story teaches us that even after a near-total habitat wipeout, species can still survive if pockets of habitat and targeted human intervention remain.
- Fire doesn’t always mean extinction. Lost canopy and scorched woodlands can be utterly devastating for many species. However, for tiny, ground-dwelling species that rely on microhabitats, fire can be a temporary reset rather than the final blow.
- Predators complicate recovery. Fire removes shelter, which can make prey much easier to catch. As a result, this can magnify the impact of introduced predators like cats, which is something that conservationists must account for.
Even today, the species remains critically endangered. The dunnart’s numbers are tiny, meaning that its survival is still uncertain. Its future still depends heavily on continued protection, habitat regeneration and cat control. However, their story nevertheless goes to show what’s possible for a species on the brink of extinction. When science, conservation and emergency action align, miracles can happen.
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