It may no longer be enough to protect species like Australia's marsupials from predators – we may have to assist in their evolution if they are to survive the 21st Century.

 "I spent 15 years removing cats from fenced reserves and national parks," says Katherine Moseby. "And then, all of a sudden, I was putting them back in. It felt very strange to be doing that."

It is a hot, intensely blue day in the Australian outback, about 350 miles (560km) north of Adelaide. I'm tagging along with Moseby as she checks the batteries on the motion-sensitive cameras that dot Arid Recovery, an ecosystem restoration project she and her husband launched in 1997. The project sprawls over 47 square miles (12,200 hectares) of red earth and scrub. It's entirely surrounded by a six-foot-tall fence, which is designed to keep out feral cats and foxes. 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210324-assisting-evolution-how-much-should-we-help-species-adapt






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