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Environment
and Resource Management Second wombat baby is out and about near St George as species has baby boom A second baby northern hairy-nosed wombat joey has emerged from the burrows at a unique nature refuge near St George, heralding a mini baby boom in one of the world's most endangerd species. Environment Minister Vicky Darling said the joey emerged last week at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge, taking its first steps outside the mother's pouch and joining another wombat joey which was also caught on film early last month. Ms Darling said at the same time wombats at Queensland's only other known colony at the Epping Forest National Park near Clermont were in the midst of a baby boom, with eight animals carrying joeys in their pouches and three others with young at foot. "This is pretty remarkable for a species that only a couple of decades ago numbered below 40 in the entire world and it's all the more remarkable because our scientists have been able to capture this second baby near St George on film and learn from their behaviour," Ms Darling said. "For months our rangers have been watching the colony at Richard Underwood with cameras ready and the second joey that has emerged last week appeared more tentative at first, but soon showed a playful nature. "It's amazing footage which shows a healthy frisky animal which appears to have a close bond with its mother. Ms Darling said the colony was established at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in 2009 as the species was at risk of extinction - even from just one catastrophic event such as major flood - while all the population was only at one location at Epping Forest. Just over two years ago, the Epping Forest wombat colony consisted of just 138 animals. "But even those numbers were cause for celebration - at one stage in the early 1980s, the number of animals in this colony numbered less than 40." So, in a world first, a new outpost was created for the rare animals more than 600km away. "It was a real concern when that first male was relocated to his new home because we had no way of knowing whether he would survive and even with the best planning, there was no guarantee that he would survive the shock of relocation. "When he headed straight down the specially prepared man-made burrows and made himself at home, we had the first indication that this bold action just might work. "More animals, including some females followed and now two years later we are celebrating the arrival of two babies - it was a huge gamble that has paid off." Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) Director Threatened Species Rebecca Williams said the monitoring was teaching scientists more all the time about northern hairy-nosed wombat biology and behaviour. "From what we know about other wombat species, these youngsters will stay with the mother for about 12 months now they are out of the pouch," Ms Williams said. "At the northern hairy-nosed wombat colony at Epping Forest National Park, eight pouch young have been seen and three mothers with young at foot. "Good conditions and predator control at both colonies have given these animals the boost they needed." Ms Darling said huge thanks were due to the Underwood family for their generosity in establishing the nature refuge and the ongoing support of sponsor Xstrata. Vision and still photos are available on request. Media contact: 3239 0824 |
