Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) have just announced some very exciting news!
Their team of ecologists have successfully translocated 19 Red-tailed Phascogales to the massive feral cat-free area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary this week.
The Red-tailed Phascogale has suffered a catastrophic decline, disappearing from 99% of its former range. With additional translocations and successful breeding, the Mt Gibson population is expected to become the largest population in Australia.
This is a partner-project between staff from AWC, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Western Australia, Perth Zoo, Lotterywest and Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC).
NACC’s Biodiversity Coordinator Jessica Stingemore had the privilege to attend the release and said:
“This is the first time that I have been inside the feral proof fence at AWC Mt Gibson and it has a real magic feel about it. It’s like stepping through the looking glass – where you could stumble upon any number of our rare animals,” she said.
“The team at AWC truly have great place to work (and live) and I am proud that NACC can help support them to restore threatened wildlife back to the bush.”
You can watch the ecologists in action via the video above, and read more about this fantastic project via the ABC article.
This project was delivered by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in partnership with the Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth Zoo, Lotterywest and NACC. NACC supported this project, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.