The Department of Environment and Science has captured rare footage of the kowari, a carnivorous desert marsupial that lives in the arid regions of Queensland and South Australia.
The footage was filmed by Senior Ecologist at the Department, John Augusteyn on a recent trip to Astrebla Downs National Park as part of a threatened species monitoring program.
It is believed this is the first time that video footage of the rare marsupial has been captured in almost a decade in Queensland.
Mr Augusteyn said the Department used thermal monitoring equipment, drones, fixed-wing aircraft and acoustic recorders to monitor the wildlife populations in the park.
“Through the thermal imaging equipment, we observed a kowari running into its burrow, so we set up a video camera and waited patiently for this little guy to re-emerge out of it,” he said.
“Kowaris are curious, inquisitive little things, but can also be very difficult to find in the landscape and even harder to film in the wild.”
Mr Augusteyn said kowaris were currently listed as vulnerable, but conservationists were collaborating with their counterparts in South Australia to review their conservation status in light of declines associated with feral cat and wild dog predation.
“Sadly, despite numerous searches, kowaris have disappeared from long-term study sites on Diamantina National Park and have not been seen since 2012,” he said.
“Fortunately, the news is much brighter on the nearby Astrebla Downs National Park, where record numbers of both bilbies and kowaris were recently recorded.”
