Alternate introduced fauna in Australia

[Alt History Buff]

OK, I know little about the ecology of Australia but I've had an idea regarding introduced species in Australia. Assume some rich nut sets up one of those giant Texas-sized ranches in Northern or Western Australia and decides it would be a great idea to import as many species as he likes into the area so he can hunt them later when the population increases.

What types of animals could the environment support?

Obviously cats, dogs, rats, rabbits, cattle, sheep, goats, cane toads, water buffalo, camels and deer where all introduced over the centuries, often to the detriment of the native species and probably to the overall environment.

It is possible to introduce more exotic (and potentially endangered or extinct) species like the Javan Tiger and Rhino, African hippos or the Indian Lion or Komodo dragon, etc, etc into a part of Australia that would be capable of supporting them?

If so, where would this be? Northern Territories? West Australia?

Pardom my ignorance but I've had an idea for a subplot and don't know if the land could support such large fauna, or if they would not be able to consume the local vegetation (poisonous or something). I know the Australian biodiversity is unique, to say the least.

I know that there used to be (thousands of years ago) a giant snake, a giant lizard, a marsupial sabertooth cat, and large herbivores but they were largely wiped out by humans, the tasmanian tiger being the most recent major example.

Is there enough density of prey species (Kangeroo) to support a tiger or lion pride?

Can Rhinos exist in the Australian wild as Camels and Water Buffalo have?

If so, what would be the effect on native species?

Would having more top predators IMPROVE the land as it reduces the herd of herbovores munching on vegetation?

Obviously ranchers would be unhappy with a new type of predator akin to dingos but I'm talking of starting them up in remote areas and it taking years or decades to move off this giant reservation/hunting preserve.

Thanks for any feedback and pardon my ignorance. I was not a bio major.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Bump. Hoping for a response.

 

[HARRY]

While there have actually been some proposals to set up a Rhino reserve in Australia I think they don't breed fast enough to be come a pest.

Hippos introduced into Columbia by Pablo Escobar have become a thriving colony so it could be possible for northern cattle king or mining magnate to import a viable breeding population for whatever reason before we got stricter on quarantine.

Soldiers returning from the Boer War could bring back some antelope spieces from South Africa that could done very well in parts of Australia.

 

[oshron]

i would recommend looking into other invasive species IOTL to get some ideas. exactly what species could also depend on who's introducing them--if this rich nut is a sport hunter, he may introduce some species just so he can hunt them (IOTL, there were plans to do this in the Soviet Union)

 

[Petike]

Maybe stoats like in New Zealand ?

Soldiers returning from the Boer War could bring back some antelope spieces from South Africa that could done very well in parts of Australia.

I like this idea. Could happen under the right circumstances. Of course, the results wouldn't be nice to native fauna and flora.

 

[Alt History Buff]

While there have actually been some proposals to set up a Rhino reserve in Australia I think they don't breed fast enough to be come a pest.

Hippos introduced into Columbia by Pablo Escobar have become a thriving colony so it could be possible for northern cattle king or mining magnate to import a viable breeding population for whatever reason before we got stricter on quarantine.

Soldiers returning from the Boer War could bring back some antelope spieces from South Africa that could done very well in parts of Australia.

Thanks, I would think Rhinos would be well suited though I don't know enough about their diet or the Australian flora to be sure.

Would they likely be in the northern wetter areas (a Sumatran Rhino) or a more arid area where Africa white or black rhinos would be more suited?

 

[wietze]

south-african antelope
the australian rugby team will be known as the aussie springboks?

and i agree, i think springboks would thrive there

 

[Petike]

Would they likely be in the northern wetter areas (a Sumatran Rhino) or a more arid area where Africa white or black rhinos would be more suited?

Could this arguably shield Indonesian rhinos from all the local extinction problems they've been facing ?

 

[Prism]

Australia/New Guinea and Indonesia are basically next-door neighbors, so I've often wondered why more of Indonesias wildlife didn't raft over. And as for alternate introduced fauna................................................

Elephants= I could see elephants thriving in Australia,New Guinea and New Zealand. Most likely Asian elephants, but I could see African elephants thriving in the Australian Outback. Might even be beneficial for the environment.

Rhinos= Both Asian and African. Asian rhinos for the wetter parts and African for the dryer.

Tapirs= rhinos little cousin. Either South American.Malayan or even all five species. Could really thrive in New Guinea and New Zealand.

Warthogs= They'd be right at home in the Outback

Peccaries= They have a wide range in North and South America, so would do alright in Australia.

Mouse-deer= Could see them doing alright in Australia,New Guinea and New Zealand.

Tiger= Most likely Sumatran or Javan. It'd be nice to see their range extended.

 

[DG Valdron]

Most of the introduced fauna in Australia were by and through westerners and Europeans. So it was mostly temperate species.

It would be interesting to see if more contact with the West Indies resulted in tropical species coming in.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Thanks for all your feedback.

I was also thinking American Bison. Australia's huge cattle population has had an adverse effect on the soil (their hooves crushing the soil, while Bison actually cut it up), maybe Bison may prove to be an good alternative to beef?

I would love to hear from someone with expertise on Australian biology to see how much of this is possible.

 

[frustrated progressive]

A bajillion things could've been introduced. Several territorial governors wanted to introduce monkeys and boa constrictors. The possibilities are limitless.

 

[oshron]

Thanks for all your feedback.

I was also thinking American Bison. Australia's huge cattle population has had an adverse effect on the soil (their hooves crushing the soil, while Bison actually cut it up), maybe Bison may prove to be an good alternative to beef?

I would love to hear from someone with expertise on Australian biology to see how much of this is possible.

it's not unheard of for American bison to be introduced elsewhere, either: there is/was a project to rebuild the old European ecosystems occupied by bison, but the problem(?) is that they use the American species of bison instead of the European bison (or wisent, if you prefer) so now there's actually a stable population of American bison in eastern Europe

 

[Prism]

Thought of more.......................................................................................

Sun bear= Found throughout Southeast Asia. Definitely fit in in New Guinea and the southern part of Australia.

Sloth bear= Native to South Asia. Could survive in Australia.

Spectacled bear= Found in South American Andes.

Raccoons and kin= The whole family actually. Coatis, kinkajous,olingos, ringtails and raccoons are found throughout the Americas and would make good small predators. And raccoons are definitely intelligent enough to survive.

Armadillos= Anyone from the South knows how resilient,tough and adaptable they are. And they're found throughout the Americas.

Pangolins= Found throughout Africa and Asia, so they could survive the environment.

 

[HARRY]

There are bison herds in Australia http://www.aranyanibison.com/ just not running wild like Water Buffalo in the NT water-buffalo were import in the 19th centenary to provide work animal and meat in the tropics.

I guess if during the 1950 Coonskin hat craze someone imported enough breeding raccoon's to start a fur industry maybe even just substitute the dwindle amount of koala skins available we could end up invaded like the japanese.
http://www.tofugu.com/2014/11/21/rascals-secret-plan-raccoon-invasion-japan/

 

[galveston bay]

I don't believe Australia has had a happy experience with introduced species as their experience with the rabbit and cane toad certainly attests.

Although more camels probably wouldn't hurt

 

[DaleCoz]

Obviously in real life most of those introductions would be a very bad idea, both from a human viewpoint and from a long-term ecological viewpoint.

That being said, there are two issues here: Short-term survival versus long-term. In the short-term, the large herbivores--rhinos and elephants would probably survive. There is an empty niche in Australia for large herbivores--though it's limited by the lack of water over much of the continent and, for browsing animals, by the many toxins in eucalyptus leaves. Depending on the location, those toxins could kill your introduced animals. There are, of course, no native predators in Australia capable of bothering an elephant or rhino.

Big predators: Komodo Dragons would probably work, at least in the short-term, though monitor lizards nearly identical to Komodos did live in Australia until the big extinction there, after which they died off locally. If they historically died off due to human hunting/competition, they might or might not survive if reintroduced. It depends partly on what has happened to the local aborigine people.

If any large predator could be introduced, it would probably be the Komodo dragons. They have a relatively fast metabolism for lizards, but they require almost an order of magnitude less food for unit of body weight than a big mammal carnivore. In a food-poor environment like Australia, needing one fifth to one tenth as many calories to survive trumps a lot of other issues.

Lions and tigers and bears? Oh my. (I had to do that. Sorry) Lions and tigers might make it in the short-term, but longer-term survival would be tough. See the bit about food-poor environments. They would only survive if a viable population of prey species was established. I doubt that they could survive only on kangaroos. Too small to be a staple, especially for a pride of lions. It is possible that the big cats would survive by becoming smaller cats--puma-sized might work. But in that case, why not just introduce pumas? There are persistent rumors that somebody really has.

Bears? Sun bears would work in New Guinea and the northernmost tip of Australia where pockets of tropical forest exist. I don't think they could make it in the eastern Eucalyptus forests. Other bears? I would be surprised if they could survive. Yes, they are omnivorous and adaptable, but they would have to adapt to a whole different set of food plants over the non-rain forest parts of the continent. I'm guessing they die out before they figure out what is edible and what is poisonous.

Antelopes: That's an interesting question. The big kangaroos would be direct competitors and unlike most marsupials, kangaroos are quite capable of competing effectively against rest-of-the-world competitors. My money would be on the kangaroos, at least in the long run. Home court advantage. They probably couldn't beat the antelopes in Africa.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Are there other poisonous plants than Eucalyptus in Australia?

 

[Forbiddenparadise64]

Not all invasive species are bad-some actually compliment the fauna of local environments by adding biodiversity that was taken away by extinctions during the pleistocene. Plus many are just more adaptable and more efficient species outcompeting less efficient ones. Dingos for example are from all we know, faster, stronger, smarter and more sociable than thylacalines, and so its only natural they would outcompete them. things like the large animals mentioned could replace extinct fauna like diprotodon, thylacoleo, paleochestes, megalania and other pleistocene beasts, so it could bring back some biodiversity into the region.

 

[Amelikite]

Australia/New Guinea and Indonesia are basically next-door neighbors, so I've often wondered why more of Indonesias wildlife didn't raft over. And as for alternate introduced fauna................................................

You wouldn't be the first, Google the Wallace line sometime.