Wild Deserts project releases bilbies, bandicoots, quolls thought locally extinct for decades

Australia Broadcast Center

01-05-2025

Crawling out of small wooden boxes into the crisp, clear outback air, dozens of golden bandicoots scurry off into their new home.
The previous night, handfuls of western quolls and greater bilbies were introduced into the "Wild Training Zone", having been previously extinct in the region.
The first steps of freedom for a greater bilby.
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ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
It is part of the Wild Deserts project, operating several hours' drive north of Broken Hill in far west NSW.
The native species will now live in a 100-square-kilometre area alongside a small and controlled number of feral cats.
According to principal ecologist Rebecca West, it was about teaching the animals how to adapt to predators.
"We are training them for the wild because we have cats in the landscape right across Australia," Dr West said.
"
We're not going to fence in the whole of Australia to protect our threatened species from them, and so this is a way to achieve that co-existence.
"
One of about 100 golden bandicoots released into the Wild Training Zone.
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ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
Born and bred inside fenced-off areas free of feral pests, there are now three of the project's seven locally extinct native species roaming beyond the enclosure.
It was an exciting milestone for Dr West, who has been a part of this project for around eight years.
"We're really testing the edge of conservation in terms of getting these threatened species back into these landscapes," she said.
"We hope to see that next generation have those predator smarts and they're able to survive even better and breed the next generation in the presence of these feral predators."
Project leader Richard Kingsford said it was part of the "holy grail" of conservation.
"We know if we can get [feral pests] down to low enough numbers, then we've got a real chance for some of these animals making a bit of a comeback," Professor Kingsford said.
Wild Deserts staff will continue to monitor and track the tagged animals.
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ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
'Ecosystem engineers'
Dr West said the re-integration of bandicoots, bilbies, and quolls was expected to have a large and positive impact on the entire ecosystem.
The crest-tailed mulgara is another species being bred in the protected fenced-off area.
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ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
"Where we have these species, we see healthier environments," she said.
"We get more nutrient mixing, we get higher rates of seedling germination, things like grass growth because they're turning over the nutrients, capturing seeds, capturing water with their little digging pits.
"
So you start to see that whole ecosystem revive.
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A baby burrowing bettong. One of these animals can shift up to 3 tonnes of soil in a year.
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ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
Professor Kingsford described the native species as "ecosystem engineers".
"They're sort of reshaping that landscape," he said.
For Dr West, years of hard work have all led to this point.
"This is genuine excitement for me … it's the reason that I came to the Wild Deserts project," she said.
"It's the next step for reintroduction biology or trying to improve the ability to get these species to be here for future generations to enjoy."
The project, which is a collaboration between the University of New South Wales, the state government, Ecological Horizons, and Taronga Zoo, will continue to breed all seven species behind fenced-off areas away from predators.
"Wild Deserts is a fantastic example of how working in partnership leads to really big outcomes," Dr West said.
The western quoll is part of the program.
(
ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde
)
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