Rare wallabies are inhabiting the Everard Ranges in South Australia’s remote Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands for the first time in 60 years.
Key points:
- The black-flanked rock wallaby – warru – was on the brink of extinction 15 years ago
- An ecologist says they seem to be settling in to their new surroundings well
- Rangers will monitor the animals closely to ensure their survival
Forty of the animals have been relocated to the rocky landscape of the Everard Ranges in Kulitjara, in the northern APY lands.
Warru, also known as the black-flanked rock wallaby, is considered one of SA’s most endangered mammal species.
It was on the brink of extinction 15 years ago.
Last month, the Warru Recovery Team, made up of traditional owners, Anangu Warru Rangers, APY Land Management and staff from the Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board, set out to trap and translocate the animals.
60-year first
Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board ecologist Brett Backhouse said it had been 60 years since the species was seen in the Everard Ranges.
“They’ve had lots of problems with foxes and cats as well as impacts from feral herbivores like camels and donkeys, and even introduced weeds,” he said.
“All of these things add up to the pressures on the species.”
Mr Backhouse said without the help of the recovery project, which was established in 2007, it was likely the species would have completely disappeared.
Twenty-five of the warru were raised in a fenced enclosure built by Anangu Warru Rangers called the pintji, while the other 15 were taken from a wild population where the species had been surviving among feral predators.
New arrivals settle in
Mr Backhouse said it was important to source the animals from the two areas to provide genetic diversity for the new population.
“The pintji was designed to hold the animals in a safe area that doesn’t have any feral predators,” he said.
“It’s sort of an insurance population and they breed in there.
“Once the pintji gets to a level that is getting close to maybe being unsustainable the animals need to be moved out.
“It’s a breeding population to help supplement the wild population.”
Mr Backhouse said each animal was fitted with a tracking collar to allow the rangers to follow the movements of the new residents for the first 12 months.
He said radio tracking in the days following the translocation showed encouraging signs for the species.
“They haven’t dispersed very much, which is good — shows that they’re relatively happy with their home,” Mr Backhouse said.
“You want to find them in roughly the same area, so they seem like they’ve settled in quite well, which is excellent.”
Mr Backhouse said camera tracking and feral animal control would continue to ensure the populations had the best chance of survival.
“The rangers are up there day in day out to make sure these things are being addressed,” he said.
“This needs to continue for a very long time — that’s really the main thing with this project.
“There’ll be a program started up by APY Land Management in the not too distant future where they will start to monitor them every year and then they can see an idea of the trajectory of the species.”
