Australia is often refered to as a country with incredible biodiversity. Since European settlement, Australia has driven more mammal species to extinction than any other nation.
Notes: Extinct mammal species are defined as those assessed as Extinct (EX) on the IUCN Red List since 1500. Realm classifications were used to assign species to continental groupings. The data sources used are as follows; the extinct mammals species data was taken from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2025).
Australia’s total of extinct mammal species since 1500 is compared against each major continent and region using IUCN Red List classifications. South America loss showing a comparable number of species to Australia.
But, the crisis did not stop with extinctions. For every species lost, there are even more stepping ever so closer.
Notes: Press play to animate the decline over time, or drag the slider to a specific year. The data sources used are as follows; the population index data was taken from the Australian Threatened Species Index (Threatened Species Index, 2025).
The population index tracks changes in the number of threatened species relative to a 1990 baseline of 1.0. Amphibians show the steepest decline, while mammals, birds, reptiles and plants have all fallen significantly as well.
The causes all point to a surprising detail, which has been well documented.
Notes: A species may be attributed to more than one threat category if multiple threats were cited in the data. Threats were identified by matching against IUCN assessment text fields. The data sources used are as follows; the threat classification data was taken from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2025).
Each bar shows the number of extinct species which IUCN assessment cites that threat. Feral cats and foxes are responsible for the greatest number of mammal extinctions. Disease through the international pet trade has collapsed the amphibian population.
The decline is not equally distributed across Australia. Some states are more threatened than others.
Notes: Species listed under the EPBC Act are classified as Critically Endangered (CE), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU). A species may be listed across multiple states. The data sources used are as follows; the threatened species listings were taken from the EPBC Act list of threatened fauna and flora (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 2026).
There are over 2,300 species are currently listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. New South Wales and Queensland have the highest numbers. Hover over each state to see the breakdown of Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable species.
But the data holds something interesting, a reason to still believe and hope.
Notes: The ribbons represent 95% confidence intervals around each index value. The population index is set to 1.0 in 1990 for both groups. Can use the range slider to zoom into periods in time. The data sources used are as follows; the managed and unmanaged population index data was sourced from the Australian Threatened Species Index (Threatened Species Index, 2025).
Threatened mammal populations at actively managed sites have shown to be stable and partial recovery, while unmanaged species/populations have continued to decline. The difference in the two lines represents the impact that conservation efforts have.
Sites which are actively managed the threatened mammal populations have remained stable, and in some years recovered. This shows that this crisis can be solved, the data proving that fact.