Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was formerly found on Kangaroo Island, Australia, but is now considered Extinct. It has not been recorded since 1819, and is thought to have succumbed to hunting pressure some years before the arrival of permanent settlers in 1836.
Population justification
None remain.
Dromaius baudinianus was endemic to Kangaroo Island, off South Australia, Australia (Stattersfield et al. 1998). Writing in 1837, Leigh reported that birds had not been seen for 10 years (Marchant and Higgins 1991) and the last recorded sighting was in 1819 (Hume and Walters 2012). An egg was apparently collected in 1830 and the species is thought to have succumbed to hunting pressure some years before the arrival of permanent settlers in 1836 (Hume and Walters 2012).
Peron, who visited the island in 1802-1803 with Baudin, wrote that the species inhabited "the innermost recesses of the woods", but would visit the shoreline in the afternoon (Howchin 1926).
The species was apparently systematically hunted to extinction by a settler (Howchin 1926), although habitat alteration by fire may also have contributed to its demise (Marchant and Higgins 1991).
Text account compilers
Mahood, S., Martin, R., Brooks, T., Vine, J., Khwaja, N.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Kangaroo Island Emu Dromaius baudinianus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/kangaroo-island-emu-dromaius-baudinianus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.