h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just been reading Bill Bryson's book about Australia which has some bits on endangered species. Very interesting is the fact that they have no idea what is in Australia in the first place, hence have no idea if they have lost any of it. I particularly was alarmed by the rabbit wallaby. Bucket loads of them seen over a three year period and then never again. So where did they go?

A rabbit calicivirus (or similar) escaped from an allegedly secure South Australian research facility at about the same time as the rabbit wallaby disappeared. Interestingly, there is a thriving introduced community of them on New Zealand's South Island. In NZ they are classified as a pest and (largely unsuccessful) efforts are being made to eradicate them. They compete for food with the native birds - or so the farmers whose pastures they are stripping, say.