Joint media release: ‘Extinct’ mammals return to Sturt National Park

Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP

NSW Minister for the Environment, the Hon Penny Sharpe

Photos

Two more ‘extinct’ species have been returned to Sturt National Park in far western NSW as part of a ground-breaking partnership between the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Wild Deserts consortium.

The release of 20 Western Quolls (a carnivorous marsupial related to the Tasmanian Devil) and 20 Burrowing Bettongs (a macropod that lives in extensive underground warrens) at Sturt National Park means that 13 mammal species listed as extinct in NSW have now been returned to the national park estate.

The Western Quoll and the Burrowing Bettong disappeared from NSW almost 100 years ago, driven to local extinction by feral cats and foxes. Feral cats alone kill 1.5 billion native animals every year.

The release at Sturt National Park came from a breeding program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo and from the Arid Recovery project in South Australia.

The reintroduction of locally extinct mammals is possible because of the creation of a network of large feral cat and fox-free areas across NSW national parks. Feral-free areas have been established in three national parks, including the largest (9,570 ha) feral cat-free area on mainland Australia at Mallee Cliffs National Park, a 5,800-hectare area in the Pilliga (both in partnership with Australian Wildlife Conservancy) and two 2,000 hectare feral-free areas at Sturt National Park. Another seven feral-free areas are nearing completion across NSW.

Feral-free areas have a critical role to play in saving species from extinction, restoring depleted populations and managing genetics. However, the long-term challenge remains how to restore wildlife populations ‘beyond the fence’.

At Sturt National Park, scientists have released two species, the Western Quoll and Greater Bilby, from a protected feral-free zone into a Wild Training Zone, which is a 10,000-hectare area protected by a conservation fence. It contains a much lower density of feral cats than the surrounding landscape.

This research will test whether some threatened species can survive in the presence of low cat densities, including developing enhanced anti-predator behaviours.

Unfortunately, there is currently no tool which effectively reduces cat densities across an open landscape. The NSW and Australian Governments are undertaking a range of initiatives designed to unlock the secret to effective cat control:

• Releasing the national Feral Cat Threat Abatement Plan later this year.
• Establishing the first dedicated feral cat shooting team in NSW National Parks.
• Supporting the development and deployment of innovative traps such as Felixers (a box using lasers, cameras and AI to spray feral cats with a toxic gel).
• Trialling cat baits.
• Supporting long-term research into genetic solutions, for example, to prevent cats having female offspring.

The 13 species reintroduced to the feral-free area network are doing very well. Wild populations have more than tripled for species such as the Bilby, Golden Bandicoot and Brush-tailed Bettong.

The Australian Government recently awarded a $2.1 million grant under its new $11.4 million Threat Innovations program for the development and trial of advanced AI wildlife camera monitoring and Felixers – some which will be rolled out across Sturt National Park.

Quote attributable to the Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:

“The Albanese Government is serious about protecting our precious native species – and that’s why we’re tackling one of their biggest killers. Feral cats are dangerous predators, contributing to two thirds of Australia’s mammal extinctions and pushing over 200 threatened species to the brink of extinction.

“The return of 13 locally extinct species to Sturt National Park in NSW is a big win for conservation, innovation and our ongoing war on feral cats.

“We’ve invested more than $60 million in projects nationwide to combat feral cats – including $2.1 million in the development of advanced AI wildlife camera monitoring which will be trialled at Sturt National Park.”

Quote attributable to NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe:

“These are the first Western Quolls in NSW for almost a century and the 13th locally extinct mammal returned across NSW. It’s a big moment in our quest to reverse the loss of biodiversity across NSW.

“This is not just about the return of individual species. It is about restoring ecosystems which depend on Bilbies, Bettongs and other ecosystem engineers to support the landscape by digging, spreading seeds and boosting water and nutrient cycles.

“The Minns Labor Government is committed to protecting what’s left and restoring what has been harmed, and it’s wonderful to see this in action in Sturt National Park.

“We are fortunate to partner with amazing scientists and researchers from UNSW’s Centre for Ecosystem Science and Ecological Horizons, Taronga Conservation Society and Australian Wildlife Conservancy and we thank them for their important work.”

Quote attributable to leader of the Wild Deserts Project and Director of the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW Sydney, Professor Richard Kingsford:

“It has been fantastic to work with our project partners in realising this ambitious plan.

“We could not have done this without the bilbies and quolls we have released into the wild from Taronga Conservation Society and bilbies, quolls and bettongs from Arid Recovery.

“We also thank those who have provided philanthropic funding to support these and other projects.”

Quote attributable to Principal Wild Deserts ecologist, Dr Rebecca West:

“It has been incredibly exciting to release 20 western quolls and 100 bilbies into the Wild Training Zone area.

“Seeing their tracks in the red sand for the first time in around a century and radiotracking them daily to check their survival has been a thrill, especially as so far, they are surviving well in the training zone, where we are reducing feral cat numbers to low numbers.

“The research at Sturt National Park is critical because it will help identify whether some threatened mammal species can survive with a low density of cats. This can help inform a long-term plan for the return of species in open landscapes.”

Quote attributable to Taronga Conservation Society Australia Chief Executive, Cameron Kerr AO:

“We’re incredibly proud of our vital conservation breeding program for the endangered Western Quoll.

“In just three years, with the support of essential philanthropic funding, Taronga has produced 90 Western Quolls for release, including 44 animals that are now fit and ready to be released back into the wild.

“Earlier this year, 16 Western Quolls were released into Wild Deserts, marking the return of this species to NSW. This remarkable achievement is a testament to Taronga’s multidisciplinary conservation team, working across the Taronga Sanctuary in Dubbo and Taronga Zoo Sydney.

“With the last recorded Western Quoll in NSW dating to 1841, this species is now being brought back from the brink thanks to the collaborative efforts of Taronga, our partners, and supporters.”