Bilby populations are booming at the 2,500-hectare enclosure at Currawinya National Park following recent heavy rains and favourable weather conditions.
Numbers are now estimated to be three-to-four times that of the initial release group.
Director, Threatened Species Operations at the Department of Environment and Science, Manda Page said monitoring using remote cameras and trackers attached to the base of bilbies tails had revealed the endangered marsupials were thriving.
“Our efforts at Currawinya to save the species in a long-standing partnership with the Save the Bilby Fund are delivering early signs of success,” Dr Page said.
“In April 2019 the first six animals were released into the enclosure. Then another 14 animals were added in September last year and monitoring results indicate that numbers are likely to be up around 60 to 80 animals,” she said.
“This is very encouraging.”
She said the long-term goal was to release bilbies into the park outside the fence, with their survival aided by a control program on feral cats, foxes and wild dogs.
“Bilbies are one of the fastest breeding mammals on earth with a pregnancy of just 12 to 14 days, but their survival in the wild is tenuous, mainly due to introduced predators,” Dr Page said.
“Feral cats, foxes and wild dogs are a big threat to these meal-sized marsupials, wiping them out across 80 per cent of their former range.”
She said that at the Currawinya National Park, the bilbies were protected behind a specially-designed fence that was completed in 2001 with funds raised by the Save The Bilby Fund.
“After flood damage in 2011-12 feral cats breached the enclosure and the Queensland Government and Save The Bilby Fund worked together to repair and upgrade the fence to withstand future floods and make the necessary preparations to re-establish a population of bilbies there,” Dr Page said.
“It’s possible with continued support that we will succeed in saving this iconic species and make it a true conservation success story,” she said.
“In a year that has been challenging for so many, this is a reason to be very optimistic,” she said.
