Interesting piece about a intentionally-protected animal losing its own ability to protect itself.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/1254379

Natasha Harrison is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia who has dedicated her research to woylie conservation.

Her recent study looked at whether anti-predator strategies used by woylies changed after being havened.

Surprisingly, across the span of only 10 years, the havened woylies had lost much of their anti-predator strategies.

With their protective instincts gone, the havened woylies would be less suitable for reintroduction into the wild - a crucial step in successful conservation.

Natasha’s future research will examine if woylies can relearn anti-predator strategies.

In the meantime, Natasha suggests conservation managers should expose havened woylies to a controlled level of predators.