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Rockies Show Signs Of Life

The critically endangered Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby could be making a come back. With dedicated monitoring and the launch of a new translocation strategy, one of Victoria's most endearing and vulnerable creatures may yet be saved from extinction.

By Department of Sustainability and Environment - 24th June 2005 - Back to News

Last month a couple of teams of keen ecologists headed into the steep gorges of the Snowy River National Park, on a quest to trap the elusive Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby.

Flora and Fauna Officer with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Lucy Clausen, coordinates the trapping program with the help of some experienced local consultants and Parks Victoria staff.

"This autumn produced some exciting results with two new female joeys being recorded in the population," Ms Clausen said.

"Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies have been dubbed ‘The Shadow’ due to their elusiveness in both trapping and being spotted, so to actually catch animals, plus catch two new recruits is a real wind fall and very exciting."

Monitoring of the wild population is one part of the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Recovery Program. A number of animals are also at zoos in a captive breeding set up, for the intention of reintroducing the species to the Grampians in a couple of years time.

The Translocation Strategy, which outlines the re-introductions, was launched at Healesville Sanctuary at the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby interpretative display on June 21 2005.

The aim of this project is to use captive-bred animals to re-populate their original habitats.

Plans are in place for the first relocation to happen in Spring of 2007, with at least 16 adult females, half with pouch-young, to be released over a four-year period in the Grampians National Park.

Later releases are planned in East Gippsland.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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