Australia was once a land of many unique animal and plant species.  Hunting by natives gradually reduced animal populations, and modern European settlement greatly changed Australia's environment.

Over the last 100,000 years, 86% of large animals in Australia have gone extinct.  This remarkable statistic shows an extinction rate much higher than that of other continents.

The Australian Continent.  Image Credit: ClickArt Image Pak

Eventually, the Europeans came to Australia.  An observer noted that in those early days the "trees retained their leaves and shed their bark instead, the swans were black, the eagles white, the bees were stingless, some mammals had pockets, others laid eggs…even the blackberries were red."

The European settlers brought rats, which killed off many native birds.  The duck billed platypus went extinct by 1850, and kangaroos and emus were hunted heavily.  Many animals species, including some marsupials, went extinct due to hunting, the introduction of new species, and changes to their natural habitat.

Major deforestation also occurred under British colonial rule.  From the end of the 1700s to the present, Australia has lost about ½ of its total forests and ¾ of its rain forests.

Destroying the forest areas resulted in severe soil erosion.  This presented a major problem, because much of Australia already consisted of desert land.  Soil erosion and dust storms plagued the country throughout the early 20^th century, and by 1984, half of Australia's land suffered from soil erosion.

Today, one leading concern in Australia is the ozone hole.  People have been warned to avoid being out in the sun at times when the ozone hole was drifting above, and some crops and animals are killed by the lack of ozone.