Kangaroos eating reptiles out of house and home »

Large numbers of kangaroos are threatening an endangered species and are eating some lizards out of house and home, new research has found. Australian National University (ANU) researcher Brett Howland has found large kangaroo numbers destroy the grassland habitats of reptiles. "When there are too many kangaroos, they over-graze grasslands until they are like a lawn, which leaves lizards with no shelter," said Mr Howland, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society. "Just because kangaroos are native doesn't mean they don't do damage. We have to regulate their numbers if we want to retain a variety of reptiles," he said. Mr Howland studied lizard populations, which provide a good yardstick for the health of grasslands. Lizards depend on grass cover for both food and shelter, they are an important part of food webs, they are food for birds and small mammals, and provide pest control by eating insects.