Endangered Wallaby No Longer Extinct! Population Grew as Feral Predators Fenced Out

Since conservation scientists led by UNSW Sydney successfully trialed an intervention strategy never before used on land-based mammals, a population of bridled nailtail wallabies in Queensland has been taken back from the verge of extinction.

One of the disadvantages of dividing animals for extended periods of time in feral-free enclosures, according to Prof Letnic, is that they unlearn their distrust of predators on the outside. "Evolution sets in after just a few years in a protected zone, and species begin to learn new ways to compete with one another. To be the first to the meal, they seem to become more daring. If they were then released back into the wild by feral animals, the brave ones would be eaten because they had lost their predator sense."

Ms. Ross, on the other hand, argues that headstarting could alleviate this issue because animals are only isolated from predators for a few months or a year at most. There is also no human contact, and the species are constantly preyed upon by natural predators such as eagles and snakes, meaning that they are conscious of their surroundings.

Future Studies

Her next experiment will look at how the bridled nailtail wallabies behaved after being released from the headstarting enclosure and how long it took them to completely transition back into the wild.

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