Across Australia signs of ecological collapse are piling up

The Radio National Hour · Aug 10, 2026 · 55m

Every year thousands of giant cuttlefish put on a dazzling show in the freezing waters of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf. But this year the cuttlefish are missing in action and scientists and divers like Manny Katz say it will be very hard for the population to recover. Giant cuttlefish numbers collapsing in South Australia’s algal soaked waters, fur seals with alopecia on a remote Victorian island, hundreds of dead pelican chicks found dead in the far west of New South Wales. Our natural world is sick and in distress, but are we paying attention? Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology…