AssetID: 53825536
Headline: Critically Endangered Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombats Explore New Home
Caption: Fifteen northern hairy-nosed wombats have been relocated to Powrunna State Forest in south west Queensland, Australia. This conservation effort means the critically endangered animals will be found in a new part of the state for the first time since the 1980s, when only 35 of the species remained in QLD. Between 1870 and 1980, land clearing and pest introduction by English invaders in Queensland all but wiped out the animal. It became one of the rarest land mammals in the world, until conservation projects took hold at Epping State Forest in central Queensland and the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge. Since then, scientists have seen a 1,000 percent increase in the Queensland northern hairy-nosed wombat population – with 400 alive in Epping State Forest and a further 18 at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge today. “Even at 400, they're still one of the most endangered animals in the world,” Leanne Brosnan from the Wombat Foundation told ABC News. “So, while this is very exciting, and you know hopefully their future will now be assured with Powrunna, there's still a long way to go for the species.” Conservationists have established the 2,800-hectare Powrunna State Forest as a breeding site. Fifteen northern hairy-nosed wombats were relocated from central Queensland to the site one month ago, and 60 more are to come. Leanne called it the “culmination of many years of hard work and planning” and stressed the “incredible amount of work” needed to establish the site. “The predator-proof fencing, setting up supplementary water, digging the starter burrows so they have a ready-made home to come to,” she explained. “Just seeing everything that's gone into preparing the site, and then seeing the footprints in the sand, was a very, very special experience.” Queensland Environment Minister Leanne Linard specified that she expected the site’s population to increase to 60 northern hairy-nosed wombats within three years. “We want to bring them back from being critically endangered,” Leanne said. “We want to see them not to have to be on sites that are ring fenced with predator-safe fencing.” She added, “We want them to be back in that natural environment that spans from New South Wales up the coast like they used to. That's absolutely the vision.” The Queensland Government also announced a plan to establish a fourth site for reintroducing the species by 2041, but didn’t nominate a site in particular. “There is a journey to make sure there's additional sites, because it is a great risk to bring an amazing species like this back from [the brink of] extinction and then have one or two sites,” Leanne said. “Because if you had a catastrophic fire, or an issue like that, we could very quickly lose them.” The minister also promised to liaise with the New South Wales Government about establishing northern hairy-nosed wombat reintroduction sites in the neighbouring state. The northern hairy-nosed wombat is the largest of Australia’s three wombat species, and the world’s largest burrowing marsupial. Wombats are known for their large heads, short legs, soft fur, strong claws used to dig burrows, and cubical scat.
Keywords: photo, feature, photo feature, photo story, northern hairy-nosed wombat, wombat, australia
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