Breeding bilbies to be introduced into Currawinya National Park

Breeding pairs of one of Queensland’s most iconic threatened species will be reintroduced to south-west Queensland’s Currawinya National Park.

Speaking from the Gold Coast, Environment Minister Steven Miles said captive-bred bilbies from Dreamworld will be released inside a predator-proof enclosure that was first built on the park in 2002.

“The bilby is one of Queensland's 16 endangered mammals and the main threat to its existence is feral cats,” Mr Miles said.

“The predator-proof enclosure safeguards 25 square kilometres of bilby habitat.

“It was badly-damaged by flooding in 2011 and 2012.

“Unfortunately, the flood damage let feral cats back inside the enclosure where they decimated the existing bilby population.

“Removing feral cats from inside the enclosure has been a major focus of ours for the past two years.

“Repairs to the fence have started and $700,000 will be spent maintaining and upgrading the fence over the next two years, to keep out feral cats.”

The Environment Minister said Dreamworld currently has 13 adult bilbies and two joeys in the pouch which are ear-marked for release into Currawinya.

“Ultimately, we hope to see 40 bilbies eventually released into the predator-proof enclosure,” Mr Miles said.

“This funding investment, combined with the breeding program, will help the bilbies prosper inside the enclosure.

“We hope this will lead to a viable population that can help restock other wild populations.”

In Queensland, the bilby is restricted to a few populations in the far west of the state - west of the Diamantina River, which includes Astrebla Downs National Park and Diamantina National Park.

There are also populations in the Great Sandy, Gibson and Tanami deserts in central Australia, the Pilbara and west Kimberley in Western Australia and areas of South Australia and New South Wales.

Dreamworld’s General Manager Life Sciences, Al Mucci, said Dreamworld staff are proud to be associated with such an important program.

“We are ramping up the breeding program to facilitate releases into the Currawinya National Park,” Mr Mucci said.

“Breeding bilbies isn’t a problem but the major problem for bilbies is feral cats.

“It’s great to see private enterprise, Save The Bilby Fund and the Government collaborating to get results for an endangered species.” 

Save The Bilby Fund’s CEO Kevin Bradley said he worked with Paul Billsborough from Wildpest Management throughout the summer in 50 degree temperatures to remove the cats. 

“We have removed five females and two males since September last year,” Mr Bradley said.

“If we didn’t get those cats, they could’ve been responsible for producing up to 40 feral cats that potentially could be inside the enclosure today.

“The feral cat control program is scheduled to continue outside the enclosure in the Currawinya National Park to reduce any further risk of feral cats entering the enclosure.”

Further information on the bilby is also available at http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened-species/endangered/endangered-animals/bilby.html.

To help save the bilby, please visit: http://savethebilbyfund.com/

ENDS

Media contact: Katherine Wright - 0422 580342