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MEDIA RELEASE - September 1 2008
Waterfall Springs celebrates Threatened Species Week
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
- Australia’s Threatened Species Crisis
Central Coast based Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary are celebrating the success of their captive breeding conservation program for the endangered Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby as part of the nationally recognised Threatened Species Week.
Threatened species week Sept 1 - 7 incorporates national Threatened Species Day - the anniversary of the death of the last Tasmanian tiger on 7 September 1936. Throughout the week people of all ages are encouraged to stop and learn about Australia’s threatened species crisis and the many important issues that need to be managed to conserve and protect our wildlife.
Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary at Kulnura are the guardians of important breeding groups of the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby undergoing an intensive breeding program to help save the species from extinction in NSW and Victoria.
Rock-wallabies are one of Australia’s most recognisable wildlife icons. Acrobats of the marsupial world they have leapt and bound around Australia’s steep and rugged terrain for centuries. But many are now considered threatened and have disappeared from much of their former range.
Waterfall Springs Veterinary Manager Celia Thomson points out Australia’s reputation for one of the worst mammal extinction rates in the world.
“Since the arrival of European settlers, 125 Australian flora and fauna species have become extinct including 27 of our mammal species” she said.
“Our Rock-wallabies are found no-where else in the world yet we are doing very little to look after them. Not only would their disappearance be a devastating loss, they also have a huge impact on preserving our natural ecosystem” she said.
The Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby is one of 16 species of Rock-wallabies in Australia and the only species present in eastern NSW. The species is listed as threatened in NSW and critically endangered in Victoria where less than 20 animals remain in the wild.
The severe decline in Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby numbers started earlier in the century when they were hunted for sport and the fur trade. Today, their major threats to survival are predation by foxes and feral animals, the competition for food and the ongoing loss of habitat.
Waterfall Springs is currently the lead organisation in the development and implementation of the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby captive breeding recovery program in NSW.
Ms Thomson said managed breeding programs are now often the last resort to save a species whereby scientifically bred animals are released into existing wild colonies to boost population numbers.
“But the job doesn’t end there” she said.
“To ensure these animals have the best chance of survival many other organisations are involved with putting in place supportive measures such as camera surveillance monitoring, predator control programs and engaging landholders in habitat protection schemes” she said.
So let’s stop and think about what we would call our National Rugby Union team if all the wallabies were gone!
Media Contact: Karen O’Mara 0415 326 762
© 2007 Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary