Tiwi Island Rangers Eradicate Invasive Tropical Fire Ants After 20 Years

For more than twenty years, Aboriginal rangers on the Tiwi Islands worked with researchers, government bodies, NGOs and private partners to wipe out the tropical fire ant that had spread across Melville Island. The species, first detected in the early 2000s, threatened small mammals, nesting birds and endangered sea-turtle hatchlings. By 2025 the ants were declared absent after intensive nest-by-nest baiting over 1,535 hectares, a scale rarely achieved worldwide.

Ben Hoffmann, a program veteran, highlighted the shift from broad-scale spraying to precise baiting as key to the victory, which was recognized with a regional Indigenous Natural Resource Management Award. The 15-strong ranger crew now turns its focus to controlling feral pigs and cats that also endanger native wildlife.