Black-footed rock-wallaby
EPBC Status: Vulnerable
SPRAT Species Profile: Black-footed rock-wallaby
Found in: Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia
Year 3 Scorecard Summary (2018)
The Black-footed Rock-wallaby is a small, nocturnal wallaby. Predation by foxes and feral cats has fragmented and contracted its range to isolated rocky habitats across inland Australia, parts of coastal WA and SA, and some islands. Other ongoing threats include habitat degradation, competition with introduced herbivores and fire. The species complex now comprises five recognised subspecies with varying distributions, population sizes, threats, management priorities and conservation statuses.
Effective control of introduced predators is helping facilitate the recovery of the Black-footed Rock-wallaby in a number of locations. This is important to continue, as intensive and sustained control of foxes and feral cats has allowed stabilisation and even increases of subpopulations at some sites. Many successful translocations of Black‑footed Rock‑wallabies to mainland sites where introduced predators are effectively controlled have succeeded in re-establishing some new subpopulations and bolstering dwindling subpopulations.
Brush-Tailed Rabbit-Rat
EPBC status: Vulnerable
SPRAT Species Profile: Conilurus penicillatus — Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat
Found in: Northern Territory and Western Australia
The Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat is a medium-sized rodent with a distinctive long brush-tipped tail. Formerly spread across tropical woodlands and open forests of northern Australia, it has declined extensively, most likely because of predation by feral cats and frequent high-intensity fires. Brush-tailed Rabbit-rats are now only found in some higher rainfall areas and on a few islands.
Overall decline in Brush-tailed Rabbit-rats is continuing, however the rate of decline has slowed since 2015 and data indicate populations in the Kimberley are stable or increasing. WA and NT governments, Indigenous groups and other organisations have worked hard to manage feral cats and reduce fire threats. Australian Government support has contributed to fire management activities in the Kimberley, research on Groote Eylandt, conservation research and management of the species on the Tiwi Islands, and will assist with a proposed translocation to a cat-free island in Kakadu National Park.
Central rock-rat
EPBC Status: Critically Endangered
SPRAT Species Profile: Zyzomys pedunculatus — Central Rock-rat, Antina
Found in: Northern Territory
The Central Rock-rat is a medium sized rodent confined to arid areas in central Australia. It has experienced extreme declines in range and population size, and a recent analysis ranked it as the mammal taxon most likely to go extinct in the next 20 years. Key threats are predation by feral cats and extensive fires which can remove cover and reduce food availability across the entire current range of the species. Due to its very small population and distributional extent, the species’ persistence is highly sensitive to these threats.
Recovery efforts have focused on landscape-scale feral cat control at refuge sites for the Central Rock-rat. This work has been undertaken by the NT Government with support from the Australian Government, and has contributed to the improved population trajectory for the species since 2015. Ongoing management of feral cats and fire will be important to prevent future declines.
To further safeguard the population in the longer-term, the Australian Government also provided funding to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy for a cat-proof exclosure at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary in the NT, which is one of several potential future translocation sites for the Central Rock-rat.
Christmas Island flying fox
EPBC Status: Critically endangered
SPRAT Species Profile: Christmas Island Flying-fox
Found in: Christmas Island (Indian Ocean Territories)
The Christmas Island Flying-fox is the last remaining endemic mammal persisting on Christmas Island. Roughly a quarter of the species’ habitat has been lost since the late 1880s due to mining and other developments. Ongoing threats include predation by feral cats, poisoning from environmental contaminants and physical disturbance and habitat change caused by Yellow Crazy Ants.
Conservation management is carried out by Parks Australia and overseen by the Christmas Island Flying-fox Advisory Panel and has focused on control of introduced animals and habitat restoration. Over 1000 feral cats have been culled since 2010 and there have been major control efforts for Yellow Crazy Ants. These actions have benefited a number of threatened species including the Christmas Island Flying-fox. Rehabilitation of nearly 200 ha of rainforest habitat over former mine sites since 1989 has included plantings of specific native fruiting trees to provision frugivores, including the Christmas Island Flying-fox. This species has been the subject of an intensive research effort over the last few years that has helped clarify population status, habitat use and threats. Work is ongoing to identify the main threats to the species and to prioritise management options to support recovery.
Eastern barred bandicoot
EPBC Status: Endangered on the mainland, and Vulnerable in Tasmania
SPRAT Species Profile: Perameles gunnii Victorian subspecies — Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Mainland)
Found in: Victoria and Tasmania
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot is a small, nocturnal marsupial that inhabits grasslands and grassy woodlands. The Threatened Species Strategy focus is on recovery of the mainland subspecies in Victoria, following near-extinction in the late 1980s due to predation by foxes and feral cats, habitat loss, and impacts from livestock grazing.
A very effective multi-organisational recovery team formed in 1989 and Zoos Victoria commenced a captive breeding program in 1991. This has produced over 960 captive-bred Eastern Barred Bandicoots, 577 of which have been released to 11 different translocation sites. Of the earlier translocation attempts, only the translocation to Mt Rothwell has persisted continuously, but more recent translocations to Hamilton Community Parklands and Churchill Island have been successful, and a recent translocation to Phillip Island appears promising. Currently, ~1000 Eastern Barred Bandicoots persist in three fenced mainland enclosures (Mt Rothwell, Hamilton Community Parkland, Woodlands Historic Park), and two islands (Churchill and Phillip). After coming back strongly from the brink of extinction, these new sites have significantly improved recovery prospects for the mainland subspecies with planning underway for reintroductions at additional sites.
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