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Rabbit-proof fence brings mammals back from the brink
Mammals once extinct in South Australia's Arid Lands are today recovering inside a reserve near the outback mining town of Roxby Downs.
Since European settlement, more than 60 per cent of the mammals that formerly inhabited the arid region about 550 kilometres north of Adelaide have become locally or completely extinct. They are the victims of predators such as cats and foxes, and overgrazing of habitat by introduced pest and domestic animals.
In 1997, a project was initiated to restore the region's native flora and fauna by creating a reserve surrounded by a pest-proof fence. Today, the 8,600-hectare sanctuary is free from rabbits, cats and foxes, and home to four types of mammal reintroduced since becoming locally extinct.
Funding
The project has received nearly $350,000 from the Australian Government. Funding is now administered by the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board.
BHP Billiton is a key sponsor, donating cash and materials for the reserve which is located on a pastoral lease near its Olympic Dam mine.
Other major sponsors are the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, the University of Adelaide and the Friends of Arid Recovery.
Activities
Destruction of the large local rabbit population by Calicivirus (rabbit haemorrhagic disease) in 1996 followed by declines in cats and foxes provided a rare opportunity to restore a highly damaged ecosystem that had suffered the country's worst extinction rate.
Project co-founder Katherine Moseby said that hundreds of volunteers contributed thousands of hours constructing the fenced reserve and getting rid of rabbits and cats.
"The reserve has been expanded four times, and at every step we've relied heavily on volunteer support," Katherine said.
Four threatened mammals have been reintroduced to the reserve to date, including the Greater Stick-nest Rat (1998), the Burrowing Bettong (1999), the Greater Bilby (2000) and the Western Barred Bandicoot (2001). These mammals were locally extinct, and had to be transported to the reserve from other parts of Australia.
Achievements
The reintroduced mammals have established nests and burrows in the reserve and are breeding well.
Greater Bilbies, gone from arid zone in the 1930s, have grown from the nine released to 600. Western Barred Bandicoots have increased from nine released to between 35 and 40. Greater Stick-nest Rats and Burrowing Bettongs are also thriving. "There are now 10 times as many small mammals inside the reserve as outside," Katherine said.
More information
- Katherine Moseby, Co-founder, Arid Recovery Project: (08) 8671 8282 or arid.recovery@bhpbilliton.com
- Arid Recovery Project
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