PREVIEW

20 endangered wallabies have been released into the Australian outback. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) transferred the animals from Taunton National Park in central Queensland to Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary in New South Wales. The 20 animals were Bridled Nailtail Wallabies, a species which was once believed to be extinct. The species was hunted to the brink of extinction by English invaders to Australia throughout the 1900s. However, a fencing contractor reported a population on a Queensland property – sparking a new interest in conserving the species at Taunton. During a new conservation effort, rangers from Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and vets from Village Roadshow Theme Parks lured twelve males and eight females into lucerne-baited traps cleared them for travel with a health check, and placed them inside pet carriers for their three-and-a-half-hour plane flight south. In their new home at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary, NSW, the 20 endangered wallabies would join the second known population of their kind. The newly released wallabies have made homes inside Scotia’s feral-predator-free area, wearing tracking collars which AWC ecologists will use to monitor their progress for the next year.