New Conservation Initiative to Save the Woylie from Extinction in the Wild

Abstract

Six hundred thousand dollars was recently pledged by the Western Australian (WA) Government to fund an Emergency Conservation Action plan for the Woylie Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi to establish insurance populations at risk of extinction in the wild. $500,000 will be used by The Department of Environment and Conservation to establish a 400 ha predator-free enclosure in the Perup Nature Reserve (300 km south of Perth, WA) that should be capable of naturally supporting up to 500 woylies. At least 40 founders will be sourced from the surrounding area, which previously constituted the largest of three indigenous populations that persisted after pan-continental declines of the species in the 19th and 20th centuries.