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Youngsters here not only to breed but save species
The Daily Telegraph, Edition 8 - Central Coast Extra
SAT 10 JUL 2004, Page 003
By SHOBA RAO
MEET Lulu, Velvet and Velour -- they're only 10 months old but these yellow-footed rock wallabies have an important job ahead of them to help save their endangered species.
These rock wallabies are part of a breeding program being run by Waterfall Springs Sanctuary at Kulnura and Adelaide Zoo.
The three youngsters recently arrived on the Central Coast after being bred in captivity in South Australia.
Waterfall Springs Sanctuary manager Debbie Breen said she had trained at Adelaide Zoo to learn how to successfully breed the rock wallaby on the Coast.
Once the wallabies start breeding, the sanctuary will be involved in moving them to other areas around NSW and Victoria.
Ms Breen said such breeding was crucial to their survival, as rock wallabies were now scattered thinly around Australia with only an estimated 100 yellow-footed and 100 bush-tailed rock wallabies left.
She said feral animals, including pigs and rodents, were to blame for their endangered status, as they competed with the native animals for food and threatened their habitats.
The yellow-footed rock wallaby is mainly found on rocky inland escarpments in places like the Flinders Ranges in SA and parts of Queensland.
"We have to start breeding them in a quiet area," Ms Breen said.
"In years to come, once we have at least 50 wallabies, we will consider setting them free in the wild."
While the wallabies are breeding, the public will not be permitted to visit them at the sanctuary. But Ms Breen said volunteers were welcome to help the sanctuary, which was a non-profit organisation that relied on volunteers in its work of caring for the animals.
If a member of the public wants to volunteer their help or donate food -- the animals can be fed vegetables, hay or oats -- they can call the sanctuary on 4376 1066.
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