Bilbies, bandicoots and other small native mammals will soon be reintroduced to Sturt National Park for the first time in more than 90 years.
One of the largest rabbit-free areas in Australia has been created in the park in far western NSW in a major project preparing to reintroduce locally extinct mammals to their desert habitat.
The Minister for Environment, Matt Kean announced the project saying predators like rabbits, cats and foxes had been totally eradicated from the 40 square kilometre enclosure.
Mr Kean said that over time, greater bilbies, burrowing bettongs, western barred bandicoots, golden bandicoots, western quolls, greater stick-nest rats and crest-tailed mulgaras would be returned to their homes, without the threat of feral predators.
“There are many native animals that we haven’t seen in this area in decades because they’ve been killed off by feral foxes and cats,” Mr Kean said.
He said the UNSW Wild Deserts team had established the feral-free zone as part of his Department’s Saving our Species program, which has committed $42 million to reintroduce locally extinct species in western NSW.
He said bilbies, some of which are being bred by the Taronga Conservation Society Australia, will be the first animals to be set free in their new home.
UNSW scientist and co-ordinator of the Wild Deserts project, Reece Pedler who lives in the park, said it had been a huge effort to eradicate rabbits, cats and foxes from such a large area.
“This 40 square-kilometre area now represents one of the largest rabbit-free areas in the country,” Dr Pedler said.
“This is an amazing achievement given these deserts supported millions of rabbits in the past, which decimated vegetation, causing soil erosion and the loss of our native fauna,” he said.
Team leader of the Wild Deserts project, Richard Kingsford said the current drought had actually been a silver lining for the project.
“It has meant that along with many native animals and plants, the ferals have also done it tough,” Professor Kingsford said.
Wild Deserts ecologist, Rebecca West said that like much of the country, the area had received less than 100mm of rain over the last two years – the driest conditions since rainfall records began, leading to low ground cover and frequent dust storms.
“Not only has the drought reduced rabbit, cat and fox numbers but it has also made tracking easier over large areas of bare red sand,” Dr West said.
