New funding obtained by the East Gippsland Conservation Management Network (CMN) will help protect one of the state’s rarest mammals – the southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (sBTRW).
The funding, provided by the Federal Government’s Environment Restoration Fund -Threatened Species Strategy, will be used to help the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby by monitoring and trialing control of introduced predators such as feral cats.
The aim is to increase wallaby numbers and maximise the long-term viability of the population.
The Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby is known as the ‘Spiderman’ of the wallaby world, defies gravity as they bounce around the steep cliffs where they live.
The species was once common throughout eastern Australia, but are now critically endangered in Victoria, with only one naturally occurring population found in the Snowy River National Park at Little River Gorge in East Gippsland.
Twenty years ago, the population had crashed to around only 15 wallabies, but captive breeding and a dedicated partnership between government agencies, community groups and businesses has turned the plight of the wallaby around, with the wild colony now numbering around 60.
IMAGE: The Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby is known as the ‘Spiderman’ of the wallaby world.
