The Bilby returns to NSW National Parks

The Bilby returns to NSW National Parks

By Liam Taylor  May 22nd, 2019

In a huge win for the iconic Australian marsupial, ecologists from the Australian Wildlife Conservatory have recorded the first Bilby born in a NSW national park in over 100 years.

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In a huge win for the iconic Australian marsupial, ecologists from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy have recorded the first Bilby born in a NSW national park in over 100 years.

The Bilby, once prevalent throughout the state, has been locally extinct in NSW for more than a century due to the combined impact of habitat loss and introduced predators such as cats. However in 2017, as part of the Saving our Species program, 60 animals were reintroduced to Pilliga National Park with the aim of establishing a healthy population.

The animals were translocated into a specially constructed fenced area within a wider 5,800-hectare feral predator-free zone, and have been monitored ever since through trapping, spotlighting and remote cameras. Earlier this month it became clear the Bilbies were thriving in their new environment when a new juvenile female was recorded, making it the first Bilby born in a NSW national park in at least 100 years. The last time the animals were seen in NSW was in 2012.

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy has been working for decades to establish fenced safe-havens where Bilbies and other native mammal species are safe from feral predators such as cats and foxes. The organisation’s network of safe-havens now protects 15% of the total bilby population, with other native species also benefitting from the predator-free environment.

 

Positive Action

  • Native species need native trees and plants in their habitat. Help them out by planting a native as part of National Tree Day 2019.
  • To keep up to date with the latest developments in the Saving our Species program, sign up to their quarterly newsletter.

 

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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.

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By Liam Taylor

Prior to joining Planet Ark Liam spent his time studying global environmental issues, travelling Southeast Asia on the cheap and working for a sustainable property management company in Bali, Indonesia. Joining the communications team at Planet Ark, he hopes to inspire positive environmental behaviour through effective and positive messaging.

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