Dr Karlene Bain
Wildlife ecologist
I’m a wildlife ecologist who loves exploring the wild and hidden corners of the world, both on land and in the sea. I’m especially drawn to rugged, remote and often overlooked places that harbour fragile life. My passion is understanding and protecting threatened species, particularly habitat specialists and short-range endemics that survive in the smallest of refuges.
I have a soft spot for species that are ancient, rare, unusual, maligned, or highly specialised in their behaviour or ecology, particularly mygalomorph spiders, quirky invertebrates, marsupial fauna, and lesser-known or misunderstood marine species.
Through my small business, I collaborate with government, not-for-profit organisations, community groups, volunteers, and other like-minded professionals to protect and restore species and ecosystems under the highest levels of threat.
Ancient feet, modern rows: Gnow in the Mettler Lake plantation
South coast wildlife ecologist Dr Karlene Bain invites you into the remarkable world of the gnow (malleefowl), describing in poetic language how a dedicated pair builds and manages their incubation mound. Her story reveals an unexpected twist: the gnow have begun using a surprising new material—blue gum plantation slash—to construct their mound.
The watchers of Koi Kyenunu-ruff
"Around its rim, a delicate palisade of leaves, twigs, and silk rises like the turrets of a miniature castle.” Join wildlife ecologist Dr Karlene Bain as she takes us on a remarkable journey into the lives of the Cataxia spiders of the Stirling Range (Koi Kyenunu-ruff). For 23 years, Karlene has regularly returned to the burrow-dwellers that build these beautiful palisades. As she sets out their plight in the face of frequent, intense fires, it is clear the spiders’ silken threads are woven into her life too. Karlene's call for the watchers' last refuges to be safeguarded is one we all need to support.