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Canberra Today 12°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Rare wallabies get a breeding boost

Brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Photo by Gerhard Koertner

WITH an estimated 40 brush-tailed rock-wallabies left in the wild, $650,000 is being spent on an initiative to support more numbers being introduced into the bush.

The joint project between the ACT government and Zoos Victoria, with funding support of $80,000 from the Federal Threatened Species Recovery Fund, will help in the long-term survival of one of Australia’s most critically endangered animals,

The initiative will fund the construction of a new 120-hectare, semi-wild, predator-proof enclosure at Tidbinbilla which will home up to 100 Brush-tailed rock-wallabies, which will provide increased opportunities to reintroduce animals bred within the enclosure to sites in Victoria and potentially within the ACT.

Work on the enclosure is expected to start in July and be completed by the end of the year.

Craig Whiteford, general manager, Threatened Species, Zoos Victoria, said: “Urgent action is needed to save the brush-tailed rock-wallaby from extinction and to implement long-term strategies for their release back into the wild.

“Of the 15 species of rock wallaby in Australia, most have disappeared from their original range and are now considered threatened.

“Tidbinbilla will oversee a new breeding population of brush-tailed rock-wallabies, which will provide animals for reintroduction in Victoria and the ACT. Tidbinbilla is well-placed to host this new facility as it has played a vital role in the recovery of the brush-tailed rock wallaby since the 1980s.”

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