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A joey born in the captive breeding program.
Did you know ...? – Rock wallaby update
In March 2008 we ran a story about the program to rescue the brush-tailed rock-wallaby from extinction. Fewer than 500 of the southern form of these wallabies remain in the wild. SESL is one of the sponsors of the captive breeding program at the Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary, on the NSW Central Coast.
On the whole, things have been going well. In February 2009, two captive-bred wallabies born and raised at Waterfall Springs were released into the Shoalhaven River region, south of Sydney, where no more than 5 animals remained. The aim is to boost the population to a self-sustaining level. The two females had been kept with a breeding male in the hope that they would be carrying young on their release.
In April, 23 rock-wallabies (including eight with pouched young) were airlifted by helicopter to an inaccessible mountain summit in the Warrumbungle National Park in the NSW mid-west. Fewer than eight wallabies remained in the Warrumbungles.
All of the released wallabies are fitted with radio collars so their movement can be monitored. Infrared cameras have been set up to record their behaviour.
Because the rock-wallabies’ survival depends in large part on the absence of feral predators, the NSW Department of the Environment and Climate Change is carrying out intensive fox baiting programs.
In recent weeks, some of the released wallabies have been killed, some by foxes, one by a cat, one by an eagle and one by an infection. Another seems to have died of old age. But over 60% remain, and most of the released females are carrying joeys. Retrapping shows that the condition of the remaining animals is steady.
The captive breeding program is one of the first intensive breeding conservation programs in Australia. If successful, it will be used as a model to save other endangered species.
Further information
http://www.waterfallsprings.com.au/
This article was drawn mainly from media releases at the above site.