Aussie state sees revival of ‘locally extinct’ mammals

Sydney, Feb 28 (IANS) Conservationists in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have managed to restore the populations of three native species in a protected enclosure in the state’s far-west desert.

The “Wild Deserts” project, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) saw bilbies, crest-tailed mulgara and Shark Bay bandicoots re-introduced to a 2,000-hectare, predator-free enclosure in Sturt National Park in NSW’s northwest corner over 2020 and 2021.

Coordinator of the project, Dr Reece Pedler, said the animals’ populations have continued to grow after being locally extinct in the area for generations, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Our crest-tailed mulgara populations have rocketed up to between 160 and 240 individuals,” said Pedler on Sunday. “We originally only started with 19, translocated from wild populations in South Australia in August 2020.”

The crest-tailed mulgara is a small marsupial found exclusively in the Australian desert. They were listed as a vulnerable species in the year 2000 and have been locally extinct in the Sturt National Park region for more than 100 years.

All three of the animals have seen their populations dwindle and vanish in parts of Australia as they have been killed by introduced predators such as wild cats and foxes.

The fenced off area at Sturt National Park serves as a “training zone” in the wild, where the vulnerable animals are able to gradually adapt to their former habitat.

The rewilding’s success has exceeded conservationists’ expectations as all three of the animals have begun to breed naturally and exhibit natural population growth.

“These results are so important for the long-term goal of restoring this magnificent desert ecosystem back to something like it once was,” said UNSW professor and Wild Deserts project director Richard Kingsford.

“It’s wonderful to see these animals back in their original home, prospering and restoring this desert ecosystem to some of its past magnificence.”

The project has been one of NSW’s most ambitious conservation projects in recent years. It saw collaboration from conservation groups, zoos, and the NSW government.

NSW environment minister James Griffin said in a statement that the government has plans to establish a further four predator-free conservation sites, bringing the state’s total protected area to over 65,000 hectares.

The next goal for the Wild Deserts team is to re-introduce the golden bandicoot into the enclosure in 2022.

–IANS

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