


Australia is a country celebrated for its wildlife, and yet native species are in crisis. In the last 200 years, Australia has lost more biodiversity than any other developed nation.
Science journalist Justine E. Hausheer travels across the continent to meet some of these incredible native animals – and the innovative scientists who are working to give them a better future.
She encounters the pygmy possums who live in high in the Snowy Mountains, hears the booming calls of bitterns from their adopted home in the Riverina’s rice fields, crouches after dark in spinifex grasslands of far western Queensland listening for the elusive night parrot, and meets the adorable fat-tailed dunnarts who might hold the answers to reviving the Tasmanian tiger.
The Vanishing Wild shows us the harsh reality of the extinction crisis – as well as the future of conservation and what can be done to save Australia’s native species.
Praise for The Vanishing Wild

Steve Brusatte
New York Times/Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
“Engrossing, captivating, full of heart and adventure… a soliloquy to the weird and wonderful animals of Australia and a clarion call for their conservation, from a brilliant science writer with a flair for storytelling.”

Jack Ashby
Author of Platypus Matters
“Justine Hausheer takes readers with her as she visits conservationists in the field and lab working tirelessly to save incredible animals from extinction, while the world waits for politicians to take the environment seriously.”

Darryl Jones
Author of Curlews on Vulture Street
“Riveting, deeply alarming, shocking yet hopeful. A vitally important contribution to popular science.”

Sean Dooley
Author of The Big Twitch
“Extinction equates to a silencing of nature. Justine Hausheer beautifully gives voice both to the animals on the precipice as well as those dedicated to bringing them back.”
Upcoming Events
Bundanon Science Symposium
21 August, 2026
—
llaroo, NSW South Coast
Brisbane Writer’s Festival
8-11 October, 2026
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Brisbane, QLD













