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==History==
===19th
[[Frederick Hasselborough]], an Australian, discovered the uninhabited island on 11 July 1810, while looking for new [[seal hunting|sealing]] grounds.<ref name="aga">{{cite book |title=The Australian Geographic book of Antarctica |last=Scott |first=Keith |year=1993 |publisher=Australian Geographic |location=Terrey Hills, New South Wales |isbn=978-1-86276-010-3 |page=14}}</ref> He claimed Macquarie Island for [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[annexation|annexed]] it to the colony of [[New South Wales]] in 1810. The island was named for Colonel [[Lachlan Macquarie]], [[Governor of New South Wales]] from 1810 to 1821. Hasselborough reported a wreck "of ancient design", which has given rise to speculation that the island may have been visited before by [[Polynesians]] or others.<ref name="antarctica.gov.au">[http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/stations/macquarie-island Macquarie Island: a brief history — Australian Antarctic Division] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613095506/http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/stations/macquarie-island |date=13 June 2012}}. Antarctica.gov.au. Retrieved on 16 July 2013.</ref> In the same year, Captain Smith described in more detail what is presumably the same wreck: "several pieces of wreck of a large vessel on this Island, apparently very old and high up in the grass, probably the remains of the ship of the unfortunate [[Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse|De la Perouse]]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Robert |title=Murihiku: A History of the South Island of New Zealand and the Islands Adjacent and Lying to the South, from 1642 to 1835 |date=1909 |publisher=Whitcombe and Tombs Limited |location=Wellington |page=176 |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-McNMuri-t1-body-d1-d14.html}}</ref>
Between 1810 and 1919, seals and then penguins were hunted for their oil almost to the point of extinction.<ref name="aga" /> Sealers' relics include iron [[try pot]]s, casks, hut ruins, graves and inscriptions. During that time, 144 vessel visits are recorded, 12 of which ended in shipwreck.<ref>R.K. Headland, ''Historical Antarctic sealing industry'', Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge University), 2018, p. 167. {{ISBN|978-0-901021-26-7}}, p. 167.</ref> The conditions on the island and the surrounding seas were considered so harsh that a plan to use it as a penal settlement was rejected.<ref name="antarctica.gov.au" />
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In 1877, the crew of the schooner ''Bencleugh'' was shipwrecked on the island for four months; folklore says they came to believe there was hidden treasure on the island.<ref name=TB>{{cite book |last=Inches Thomson |first=John Sen |title=Voyages and Wanderings In Far-off Seas and Lands |year=1912 |publisher=Headley Brothers |location=London, England |pages=139–191}}</ref> The ship's owner, [[John Sen Inches Thomson]], wrote a book on his sea travels, including his time on the island. The book, written in 1912, was entitled ''Voyages and Wanderings In Far-off Seas and Lands''.<ref name=TB/>
====
Macquarie Island was made a constituent part of [[Colony of Tasmania|Tasmania]] on 17 June 1880 through Letters Patent for the Governor of Tasmania.<ref name="Letters Patent for Governor of Tasmania 1880">{{cite web |title=Item BB-AU-490 - Letters patent constituting the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Tasmania and its Dependencies |url=https://sparc.utas.edu.au/index.php/letters-patent-constituting-the-office-of-governor-and-commander-in-chief-of-the-colony-of-tasmania-and-its-dependencies |publisher=University of Tasmania |access-date=3 October 2023 |ref=Letters Patent for Governor of Tasmania 1880}}</ref>
In 1890, the [[Colony of New Zealand]] wrote to [[William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow]] (the [[Governor-General of New Zealand|
When
On 20 April 1891, regulations issued by the Tasmanian Commissioner of Fisheries for the protection of seals on Macquarie Island came into effect. This was possible under existing Tasmanian legislation, namely the Fisheries Act 1889.<ref name="Corro from NZ regarding Macquarie Island transfer (1891)"/> By 26 October 1891, these regulations were amended to expire on 20 July 1894, and to no longer include the forfeiture of a vessel as penalty for the offence.<ref name="Amended Tas Regs">{{cite web |title=The Fisheries Act, 1889: Regulation Under |url=https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/31699/1891pp154.pdf |publisher=Tassmanian Legislative Council |access-date=4 October 2023 |ref=Amended Tas Regs |date=26 October 1891}}</ref>
===20th
Between 1902 and 1920, the Tasmanian Government leased the island to [[Joseph Hatch]] (1837–1928) for his oil industry based on harvesting penguins.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fahan_mi_shipwrecks/journals/Sealers/sshatch9.pdf |title=Sinking a Small Fortune: Joseph Hatch and the Oiling Industry |website=Parks and Wildlife Service |publisher=[[Tasmanian Government]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822201253/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fahan_mi_shipwrecks/journals/Sealers/sshatch9.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=20 March 2018}}</ref>
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The island had status as a [[nature reserve|biosphere reserve]] under the [[Man and the Biosphere Programme]] from 1977 until its withdrawal from the program in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/withdrawal-of-biosphere-reserves/ |title=Biosphere reserves withdrawn from the World Network of Biosphere reserves |work=Man and the Biosphere Programme |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=5 November 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211184110/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/withdrawal-of-biosphere-reserves/ |archive-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> On 5 December 1997, Macquarie Island was inscribed on the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage List]] as a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on Earth where rocks from the [[Earth's mantle]] are being actively exposed above sea-level.<ref name="parks.tas.gov.au" /><ref name="WHL">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629 |title=Macquarie Island |work=[[World Heritage Site|World Heritage List]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |date=1997 |access-date=8 July 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621064210/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629/ |archive-date=21 June 2016}}</ref>
===21st
On 23 December 2004, an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the [[moment magnitude scale]] rocked the island but caused no significant damage.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272000.htm |title=Antarctic expeditioners unscathed by earthquake |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Australia |date=24 December 2004 |access-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223041621/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272000.htm |archive-date=23 December 2007}}</ref> [[Geoscience Australia]] issued a Tsunami Inundation Advice for Macquarie Island Station.<ref>Geoscience Australia Professional Opinion. January 2014</ref> The paper indicated that a [[tsunami]] caused by a local earthquake could occur with no warning, and could inundate the isthmus and its existing station. Such a tsunami would likely affect other parts of the coastline and field huts located close to the shore. According to several papers, an earthquake capable of causing a tsunami of that significance is a high risk.
In 2018, the Australian Antarctic Division published a map showing the island's buildings with confirmed or suspected [[asbestos]] contamination, which included at least half the structures there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/mapcat/display_map.cfm?map_id=14689 |title=Map 14689: Macquarie Island - Asbestos presence in buildings |date=August 2018 |website=data.aad.gov.au |type=Map |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113174030/https://data.aad.gov.au/database/mapcat/maccastn/macquarie_buildings_asbestos_14689.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref>▼
In September 2016, the Australian Antarctic Division said it would close its research station on the island in 2017.<ref name=MR2>{{cite web |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/minister/frydenberg/media-releases/mr20160916.html |work=Federal Environment Minister |title=Options for a continuing permanent year-round presence on Macquarie Island to be considered |access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref> However, shortly afterwards, the [[Australian government]] responded to widespread backlash by announcing funding to upgrade ageing infrastructure and continue existing operations.<ref name=MR2/>
▲In 2018, the Australian Antarctic Division published a map showing the island's buildings with confirmed or suspected [[asbestos]] contamination, which included at least half the structures there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/mapcat/display_map.cfm?map_id=14689 |title=Map 14689: Macquarie Island - Asbestos presence in buildings |date=August 2018 |website=data.aad.gov.au |type=Map |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113174030/https://data.aad.gov.au/database/mapcat/maccastn/macquarie_buildings_asbestos_14689.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref>
==Geography==
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Macquarie Island is an exposed portion of the [[Macquarie Fault Zone|Macquarie Ridge]] and is located where the [[Australian Plate]] meets the [[Pacific Plate]]. The island lies close to the edge of the [[submerged continent]] of [[Zealandia]], but is not regarded as a part of it, because the Macquarie Ridge is [[oceanic crust]] rather than [[continental crust]].
It is the only place on Earth where rocks from the [[Earth's mantle]] ({{cvt|6|km|disp=comma}} below the [[seabed|ocean floor]]) are being actively exposed above sea-level. {{citation needed|date=March 2024|reason=Mantle magma is common above sea level eg Iceland and other mantle plume situations-the tetonics here are unique but for slightly different reasons that should be referenced and reworded being mainly related to pure mid ocean ridge basalt above sea level}} These unique exposures include excellent examples of [[Basalt#Pillow basalts|pillow basalts]] without any hint of continental crust contamination and other [[extrusive rock]]s.<ref>[https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/landforms/islands Geoscience Australia: Macquarie Island]</ref> It also is the only oceanic environment with an exposed [[ophiolite]] sequence. Due to these unique geological exposures, it was made a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1997.<ref name=WHL/>
==Climate==
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The island has five principal vegetation formations: [[grassland]], [[herbfield]], [[fen]], [[bog]] and [[feldmark]]. Bog communities include 'featherbed', a deep and spongy [[peat]] [[bog]] vegetated by grasses and low herbs, with patches of free water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/projects/macquarie/macq-report.html |title=Macqauarie Island - a report on a short visit |author1=Croft, J. R. |author2=Richardson, M. M. |access-date=3 August 2010 |publisher=[[Australian National Botanic Gardens]] |location=Canberra |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928234816/http://www.anbg.gov.au/projects/macquarie/macq-report.html |archive-date=28 September 2010}}</ref> Endemic flora include the [[cushion plant]] ''[[Azorella macquariensis]]'', the grass ''[[Puccinellia macquariensis]]'', and two orchids – ''[[Nematoceras dienemum]]'' and ''[[Nematoceras sulcatum]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apstas.com/sgaptas-treas3.htm |title=Plants of Macquarie Island |access-date=20 July 2010 |publisher=Australian Plants Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707154613/http://www.apstas.com/sgaptas-treas3.htm |archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref>
Mammals found on the island include [[subantarctic fur seal]]s, [[Antarctic fur seal]]s, [[New Zealand fur seal]]s and [[southern elephant seal]]s – over 80,000 individuals of this species. Diversities and distributions of [[cetacean]]s are less known; [[southern right whale]]s<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations/macquarie-island/this-week-at-macquarie-island/2013/8-november-2013/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812142332/http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations/macquarie-island/this-week-at-macquarie-island/2013/8-november-2013/2 |url-status=dead |title=Macca Gallery |archive-date=12 August 2016 |website=www.antarctica.gov.au}}</ref> and [[orca]]s are more common followed by other migratory baleen and toothed whales, especially [[sperm whale|sperm]] and [[beaked whale]]s, which prefer deep waters.<ref>Hoyt E., 2011, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QiEK_7D0e08C&dq=macquarie+island+southern+right+whale&pg=PA377 Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises], p. 377, [[Earthscan]], {{ISBN|9781844077625}}</ref><ref>Selkirk P., Seppelt R., Selkirk D., 1990, Subantarctic Macquarie Island - Environment and Biology (Studies in Polar Research), "Appendix 11: Marine Mammals of Macquarie Island" p. 275, [[Cambridge University Press]], {{ISBN|9780521266338}}</ref> So-called "upland seals" once found on [[Antipodes Islands]] and Macquarie Island have been claimed by some researchers as a distinct subspecies of fur seals with thicker furs, although it is unclear whether these seals were genetically distinct.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03014223.1994.9517473 |volume=24 |issue=3 |title="The upland seal" of the Antipodes and Macquarie Islands: A historian's perspective |year=1994 |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand |pages=289–295 |last1=Richards |first1=Rhys|doi-access=free |bibcode=1994JRSNZ..24..289R }}</ref>
[[Royal penguin]]s and [[Macquarie shag]]s are [[endemism|endemic]] breeders, while [[king penguin]]s, [[southern rockhopper penguin]]s and [[gentoo penguin]]s also breed here in large numbers. The island has been identified by [[BirdLife International]] as an [[Important Bird Area]] because it supports about 3.5 million breeding seabirds of 13 species.<ref>BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Macquarie Island. [http://www.birdlife.org] {{webarchive
===Ecological balance and ongoing threats===
The island ecology was affected by the onset of European visits in 1810. The island's [[fur seal]]s, [[elephant seal]]s and [[penguin]]s were killed for fur and blubber. Rats and mice that were inadvertently introduced from the ships prospered due to lack of predators. Cats were subsequently introduced deliberately to keep them from eating human food stores. In about 1870, rabbits and a species of New Zealand [[Rail (bird)|rail]] ([[weka]]s) were left on the island by sealers to breed for food.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=12997#History |title=Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project |last=Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania |date=14 July 2015 |access-date=28 February 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316005850/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=12997#History |archive-date=16 March 2017}}</ref> This caused huge damage to the local wildlife, including the extinction of the [[Macquarie Island rail]] (''Gallirallus macquariensis''), the [[Macquarie parakeet]] (''Cyanoramphus erythrotis''), and an as-yet-undescribed species of teal. By the 1970s, 130,000 rabbits were causing tremendous damage to vegetation.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jan/13/macquarie-cats-conservation Macquarie Island faces 'ecosystem meltdown' after conservation efforts backfire] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004522/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jan/13/macquarie-cats-conservation |date=2 February 2017}}. [[The Guardian]]. accessed on 12 January 2009.</ref>
The [[feral cat]]s introduced to the island had a devastating effect on the native seabird population, with an estimated annual loss of 60,000 seabirds. From 1985, efforts were undertaken to remove the cats. In June 2000, the last of the nearly 2,500 cats were culled in an effort to save the seabirds.<ref name=cull>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540215/Cull-upsets-islands-ecological-balance.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Cull upsets island's ecological balance |first=Nick |last=Squires |date=22 January 2007 |access-date=11 December 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225223545/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540215/Cull-upsets-islands-ecological-balance.html |archive-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> Seabird populations responded rapidly,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brothers |first1=N. |last2=Bone |first2=C. |year=2008 |title=The response of burrow-nesting petrels and other vulnerable bird species to vertebrate pest management and climate change on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island |journal=[[Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania]] |volume=142 |pages=123–148 |doi=10.26749/rstpp.142.1.123 |doi-access=free}}</ref> but [[rat]]s and [[rabbit]]s population increased after the cats were culled, and continued to cause widespread environmental damage.<ref name=cull/>
The rabbits rapidly multiplied before numbers were reduced to about 10,000 in the early 1980s when [[myxomatosis]] was introduced. Rabbit numbers then grew again to over 100,000 by 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-07-15/fears-for-sub-antarctic-island-plagued-by-rabbits/1802206 |title=Fears for sub-antarctic island plagued by rabbits |work=News Online |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=15 July 2006 |access-date=5 April 2007}}</ref> Rats and mice feeding on young chicks, and rabbits nibbling on the grass layer, has led to soil erosion and cliff collapses, destroying seabird nests.<ref name=cull/> Large portions of the Macquarie Island bluffs are eroding as a result. In September 2006 a large landslip at Lusitania Bay, on the eastern side of the island, partially destroyed an important penguin breeding colony. [[Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service]] attributed the landslip to a combination of heavy spring rains and severe erosion caused by rabbits.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1770316.htm |title=Rabbits blamed for penguin deaths in landslide |work=News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=21 October 2006 |access-date=5 April 2007}}</ref>
Research by Australian Antarctic Division scientists, published in the 13 January 2009 issue of the [[British Ecological Society]]'s ''[[Journal of Applied Ecology]]'', suggested that the success of the feral cat eradication program has allowed the rabbit population to increase, damaging the Macquarie Island ecosystem by altering significant areas of island vegetation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2009/lessons-learned-from-devastating-effects-of-cat-eradication-on-macquarie-island |title=Lessons learned from devastating effects of cat eradication on Macquarie Island |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181853/http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2009/lessons-learned-from-devastating-effects-of-cat-eradication-on-macquarie-island |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> However, in a comment published in the same journal other scientists argued that a number of factors (primarily a reduction in the use of the [[Myxoma virus]]) were almost certainly involved and the absence of cats may have been relatively minor among them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dowding |first1=J.E. |last2=Murphy |first2=E.C. |last3=Springer |first3=K. |last4=Peacock |first4=A.J. |last5=Krebs |first5=C.J. |year=2009 |title=Cats, rabbits, Myxoma virus, and vegetation on Macquarie Island: a comment on Bergstrom ''et al.'' (2009) |journal=[[Journal of Applied Ecology]] |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=1129–1132 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01690.x |doi-access=free|bibcode=2009JApEc..46.1129D }}</ref> The original authors examined the issue in a later reply and concluded that the effect of the Myxoma virus use was small and reaffirmed their original position.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Management implications of the Macquarie Island trophic cascade revisited: a reply to Dowding et al. (2009) |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=1133–1136 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01708.x |year=2009 |last1=Bergstrom |first1=Dana M. |last2=Lucieer |first2=Arko |last3=Kiefer |first3=Kate |last4=Wasley |first4=Jane |last5=Belbin |first5=Lee |last6=Pedersen |first6=Tore K. |last7=Chown |first7=Steven L. |bibcode=2009JApEc..46.1133B |hdl=10019.1/120032 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The original authors did not, however, explain how rabbit numbers were greater in previous periods such as the 1970s before the myxoma virus was introduced and when cats were not being controlled, nor how rabbits had built up to such high numbers when cats were present for some 60 years prior to the introduction of rabbits; suggesting that cats were not controlling rabbit populations before the introduction of the myxoma virus.
On 4 June 2007 a media release by [[Malcolm Turnbull]], Federal Minister for Australia's Environment and Water Resources Board, announced that the Australian and Tasmanian Governments had reached an agreement to jointly fund the eradication of rodent pests, including rabbits, to protect Macquarie Island's World Heritage values.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Malcolm |last=Turnbull |author-link=Malcolm Turnbull |title=Agreement to eradicate rabbits on Macquarie Island |date=7 June 2007 |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/env/2007/pubs/mr04jun07.pdf |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=12 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927161323/http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/env/2007/pubs/mr04jun07.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> The plan, estimated to cost $24 million [[Australian dollar]]s, was based on mass baiting the island similar to an eradication program on [[Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku|Campbell Island]], [[New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Darby |title=Up against rats, rabbits and costs |date=11 April 2007 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/up-against-rats-rabbits-and-costs/2007/04/11/1175971183257.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=11 April 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222231309/http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/up-against-rats-rabbits-and-costs/2007/04/11/1175971183257.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |archive-date=22 December 2007}}</ref> to be followed with teams of dogs trained by [[Steve Austin (dog trainer)|Steve Austin]]<ref>[http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/antarctica-expedition-macquarie-island.htm/ Antarctica expedition: Macquarie Island] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326104903/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/antarctica-expedition-macquarie-island.htm |date=26 March 2011}}, ''[[Australian Geographic]]'', 23 March 2011.</ref> over a maximum seven-year period.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/macquarie/rabbitsfaq.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812004625/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/macquarie/rabbitsfaq.html |url-status=dead |title=Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania - Plan for the Eradication of Rabbits and Rodents on Macquarie Island |archive-date=12 August 2007}}</ref> The baiting was expected to inadvertently affect kelp gulls, but greater-than-expected bird deaths caused the program to be suspended. Other species killed by the baits include [[giant petrel]]s, [[Pacific black duck|black duck]]s and [[skuas]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ogilvie |first=Felicity |title=Bird deaths lead to review of baiting program |url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s3046416.htm |access-date=17 January 2013 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Australia |date=23 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102140032/http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s3046416.htm |archive-date=2 November 2010}}</ref>
In February 2012, ''[[The Australian]]'' newspaper reported that rabbits, rats and mice had been nearly eradicated from the island.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/natives-thriving-since-pests-were-voted-off-the-island/story-e6frg8y6-1226269129988 |title=Natives thriving since pests were voted off the island |first=Matthew |last=Denholm |work=The Australian |date=13 February 2012 |access-date=27 February 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226213952/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/natives-thriving-since-pests-were-voted-off-the-island/story-e6frg8y6-1226269129988 |archive-date=26 February 2012}}</ref> In April 2012 the hunting teams reported the extermination of 13 rabbits that had survived the 2011 baiting; the last five were found in November 2011, including a lactating doe and four kittens. No fresh rabbit signs were found up to July 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=13001 |title=Parks & Wildlife Service - Project News & Updates |work=parks.tas.gov.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424080012/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=13001 |archive-date=24 April 2013 |access-date=7 March 2014}}</ref>
===Introduced birds===
Despite being declared pest-free, Macquarie Island is still inhabited by several invasive bird species, such as the Domestic [[mallard]] and [[Common starling|European starling.]] The self-introduction of
==Gallery==
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