A new home for Bridled Nail-tail wallabies?

Scientists are rethinking their approach to saving the endangered Bridled Nail-tail wallaby. The last hope for survival of the species may lie in relocating some of the last 400-500 animals from their populations in national parks to private land.

The endangered Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby was once common in inland Australia from Victoria to Queensland.

In the early 1900s the wallabies were hunted for their fur but also because it was considered a pest. Habitat loss, foxes and possibly competition from rabbits and sheep added to the pressure on the species.

By 1960 the Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby was thought to be extinct.

Following the sensational discovery of a population in 1973 in central Queensland near Dingo, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded an expedition to search for the wallabies in NSW. The last animal in the state was seen near Manilla in 1924.

The expedition failed to find the species, and today there are only 400 - 500 Bridled Nail-tail wallabies left in the world.

Two wild populations remain in Queensland national parks, and both are in decline. Suitable habitat in national parks is rare and translocating some of the remaining animals may be nessessary to save the species.

A small number of wallabies has already found a new home on a private property called Avocet. Part of the property was set aside for conservation under a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with the Queensland Government. The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is funding research into this population to find out how successful the translocation efforts are. Data from past and new trappings will reveal population size, survival and reproduction rates and the distribution of the wallabies throughout the reserve.

If this project proves the success of the translocation program it may be possible to reintroduce the species into other areas of both Queensland and New South Wales.

The Foundation funded this project in 2008. In addition Masters student Lisa Kingsley (pictured above) received a Junior Scientist grant from the Foundations Small Grants Program to continue her research at Avocet.

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Image: © Department of Environment and Climate Change

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