WWF-Australia’s Threatened Species Conservation Officer Ryan Collins was recently involved in Australia’s largest release of captive bred brush-tailed rock wallabies:
They’re cute, bouncy, and they rock! No they’re not the latest boyband, they are brush-tailed rock wallabies. And they’re heading into an extinction vortex, whereby if nothing is done to pull them out, they will cease to exist - if only the same could be said for boybands!
Battling an extinction vortex sounds like hard work, and well, it is. It means teams from different organisations like WWF-Australia, the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Australian Government, Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary, and the community, must work together toward the ultimate goal of stabilising and hopefully increasing threatened populations. It might not involve space wars, but it does involve rock wallabies becoming flying wallabies.
Recently, I was involved in Australia’s largest ever release of captive bred brush-tailed rock wallabies. They were flown by helicopter in Australia Post sacks, perhaps simulating a safe pouch environment, to a mountain summit in the Warrumbungle National Park …truly air mail delivery. A couple of hours before sunset, the first of the 23 rock wallabies were set free. Most were initially reluctant to leave the comfort of their sack, before slowly looking to find the nearest rock on which to perch (thus, live up to their name!) and check out their new world. I was lucky enough to release two of the wallabies and can say it was a very special moment.
All wallabies will be continually monitored via radio collars and infrared camera in the coming months, and this is when community volunteers can become involved.
The Vortex
In the late 1800s/early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of brush-tailed rock wallabies were shot as agricultural pests and hunted for fur. Now there’s estimated to be 15,000 – 30,000 animals left nationally.
- Estimated 15 – 20 left in the southern group in Victoria
- Estimated 800 – 900 left in the central group south of the Hunter River to south-east NSW.
- Estimated 10,000 – 20,000 in the northern group centered in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW.
The threatening processes include:
- Predation:
- European Red Foxes
- Feral Cats
- Feral Dogs
- Competition for habitat and food:
- Feral goats
- Rabbits
- Land clearance / clearing of native vegetation
- Inappropriate fire regimes
- Habitat fragmentation
Ways to address the threatening processes include:
- High intensity threat abatement in and around colonies
- Supplementation of small and declining colonies with captive populations
- Improve knowledge of and implement appropriate fire regimes
- Encourage community involvement in recovery efforts
- Increase knowledge to enable more effective management of species
This project, appropriately named ‘Pulling rock wallabies from an extinction vortex,’ was made possible due to funding by an Australian Government Caring for our Country grant.
Brush-tailed wallaby fact sheet
Rock wallabies aren’t found anywhere else on earth. There are currently 15 species and eight subspecies of rock wallaby and they form the largest group of macropods (marsupial with large hind limbs) in Australia. Rock wallabies are an internationally recognised group for the study of the development of species and chromosome evolution in kangaroos and wallabies. Download (PDF 259.68 KB)
7 Responses
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How do I become involved as a volunteer ?
I am dissapointed that Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary did not get most of the credit for saving the Brushtailed Rock Wallabies. The amount of work and dedication put in by the staff and volunteers over many years to put in the programs and infrastructure to be able to save and breed these wallabies has been incredible. I have visited there about 4 times over the years and have seen the amazing work they have done.
Thank you to WWF for helping in the release of the brush-tailed rock wallabies, but most of the credit should go to Waterfall Springs.
John Wiggin. North Gosford. 2250
Hi Scott,
To become involved as a volunteer, please email me directly at rcollins@wwf.org.au. Simply advise me of:
- your contact details;
- which area you able to volunteer in;
- any related previous experience.
Ryan Collins
Conservation Officer - Threatened Species
WWF-Australia
Email: rcollins@wwf.org.au
Hi John,
Thanks for your comments.
A great deal of credit certainly must go to Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary, the staff and the volunteers there. They did a fabulous job breeding the rock wallabies and spent a lot of time preparing the animals for release.
The project refered to in this story received funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country to initiate the next step of the program - to assess rock wallaby colonies, address threatening processes, and release animals to supplement the dwindling wild populations. This blog is of course only part of that story. We will continue to work with all stakeholders with a common goal: preventing the extinction of declining colonies of brush-tailed rock wallabies.
Cheers,
Ryan Collins
Conservation Officer - Threatened Species
WWF-Australia
No mention of the major threatening processes and how the vortex operates. I understand the original threat came from the fur trade. Is that (and wildfire) responsible for the inviable numbers we see today? What is meant by “pulling them out”?
Is this program solely about captive breeding?
Are foxes a problem?
Every mention of threatened species in any media is an opportunity to raise awareness (by the public and consequently by the decision makers) not just there is a numbers problem, but what the major threats are, particularly the threats that can be easily reduced if they are properly resourced. Cute film clip, but how did it help the wallabies?
In this case, links to information sites are the obvious answer.
How do I become involved as a volunteer ?
Hi Ryan Collins,
Currently I work for the BCC in the North Habitat department and work in reserves and wetlands such as Boondal and Tinchi Tamba. Other reserves more inland such as Chermside Hills Reserve etc.
After doing some research on the fauna I have seen to date; I’m quite curious about this species. How can I find out where the estimated numbers/ locations are for this species?
Also after talking to fellow council workers about Koala Tree maintenance, I’m also interested in researching numbers and locations for these guys also.
Since doing the coastal wetlands; Tinchi Tamba seems to be one of the main sites with an abundance of Wallabies and only one sighting of a Koala to date but I hear it has been claimed low importance? I think differently.
Ive back tracked all these sites by quad bike to treat Groundsel and I have seen these wetlands come to life and they need to be saved.
I feel increasingly in S.E Qld ‘ local native vines’ are turning out to be local weeds; such species as Parsonsia & Cockspur Thorn. These species without management (fire!!!!) just take over very important species such as Qld Blue Gum or entrire Melaleuca forests by both choking the host, acting as a climber and also a groundcover; in turn becoming the dominant species which makes these environments out balanced.
Without native germination and a very important balance of the native species; koalas, wallabies, bandicots etc inhibiting their movements from food trees to habitat to general movement through the forests.
How can i find out more info on important issues? How can i do more? I can maintain trees etc within my time on these reserves and wetlands but this is not forever.
The more i study about Brisbane the more i see fauna and flora fading away for a fast paced selfish busy lifestyles.. where has the balance gone?
kaitygordon@yahoo.com.au