{"id":91081,"date":"2026-09-08T11:33:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/91081\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:33:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:33:23","slug":"exciting-signs-of-survival-as-quolls-and-bandicoots-reintroduced-to-outback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/91081\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Exciting’ signs of survival as quolls and bandicoots reintroduced to outback"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bec Bec West has been involved in the Wild Deserts project for a decade.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

It has been more than a century since bilbies, bandicoots and burrowing bettongs roamed freely across outback New South Wales.<\/p>\n

Their local extinction here and throughout most of Australia’s mainland was due to cats, foxes and rabbits.<\/p>\n

But now they are back and breeding.<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2016, the Wild Deserts project aimed to reintroduce seven locally extinct native species to an area in the north-west corner of NSW.<\/p>\n

They included crest-tailed mulgaras, stick-nest rats, western quolls and Shark Bay bandicoots, formerly known as western barred bandicoots.<\/p>\n

“The idea is to turn back the tide of extinction,” says principal ecologist Bec West, “giving these species a chance to come back and turn our deserts back into a really healthy place.”\"A The project is based at Fort Grey, a former grazing property in Sturt National Park, nestled in the remote north-west corner of NSW.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

But before it could get off the ground, Wild Deserts, based in Sturt National Park, needed the right people running it.<\/p>\n

That is where Bec and her husband, Reece Pedler, stepped in.<\/p>\n

\"Reece Bec West and Reece Pedler moved to Fort Grey in 2017.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

The couple had been working on threatened species and conservation in South Australia.<\/p>\n

“We thought, ‘Maybe we’ll apply as a double act and see how it goes,'” Reece says.<\/p>\n

They were exactly what Wild Deserts team leader Richard Kingsford was looking for.<\/p>\n

Both were trained scientists, working in arid areas and had PhDs.<\/p>\n

“It was a great opportunity, this young couple with amazing talents \u2026 able to love living where they are,” he says.<\/p>\n

For the species to survive, the team first needed to build two 2,000-hectare fenced-off exclosures to keep predators out.<\/p>\n

And then remove any predators from inside the enclosures.<\/p>\n

“Before the fence was even finished, we started mapping all the rabbit warrens, about 1,000 \u2026 on foot with a little conservation detector dog,” Reece says.<\/p>\n

With the exclosures declared feral-free in early 2019, the first crest-tailed mulgaras and bilbies were released the following year.<\/p>\n

\"Bec Bec West and Reece Pedler celebrated feral-free status with a cake.(Supplied: Bec West)\"A One of more than 400 bilbies living inside Sturt National Park.(Supplied: UNSW\/Richard Freeman)\"An The team built about 50 kilometres of fences.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"A The area is traditionally known for its cattle.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

Then came Shark Bay bandicoots, golden bandicoots, bettongs and western quolls.<\/p>\n

As the top native predator, the quoll was a significant addition for Richard.<\/p>\n

“They keep a cap on the sustainability of the herbivores,” he says.<\/p>\n

“If you just let these animals go for it within one of these safe havens, there’s nothing to stop them building up their numbers and becoming unsustainable.”<\/p>\n

They are surrounded by a 100-square-kilometre “wild training zone”, which contains a low density of feral cats.<\/p>\n

\"A A formidable native-cat-sized carnivore, the western quoll\u00a0preys on small animals up to the size of a rabbit.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

It is where the native animals are eventually released.<\/p>\n

Most of the species are “ecosystem engineers”. Not only are they repopulating the desert, but they are bringing it back to life.<\/p>\n

“[They] are \u2026 really good at turning over soil to look for their food and build their burrows,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“All that soil turnover helps with plant growth.”\"An One of Sturt National Park’s resident wedge-tailed eagles.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

Only one species, the stick-nest rat, couldn’t adapt to the environment.<\/p>\n

“They just did not do well here,” Richard says.<\/p>\n

\"David David Damschke and a UNSW student collect a golden bandicoot from a cage trap.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

David Damschke is the only other full-time staff member with Bec and Reece.<\/p>\n

He spends most of his time tracking, trapping and checking the animals before preparing them for release outside the exclosures.<\/p>\n

\"A Six of the seven species, including crest-tailed mulgaras (pictured), have been successfully released.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

“We know that animals can live in a fence where there are no predators and nothing to worry them,” he says.<\/p>\n

“But getting them beyond the fence \u2026 where they can continue on their natural function and the ecological role, that would be the key part.”<\/p>\n

Killer cats\u00a0<\/p>\n

The biggest threat to introduced species is feral cats, which kill more than a billion Australian native animals a year.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got the worst extinction record of any country in the world,” Richard says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The combination of cats, foxes and too many rabbits basically obliterated many of these species from this landscape.”<\/p>\n

\"A The 100-square-kilometre wild training zone has a low density of feral cats.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"David David Damschke looks for a place to release a golden bandicoot inside an exclosure.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"A This baby bandicoot was too young for the wild training zone.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

The team is hopeful the natives will develop better survival instincts to combat the threat of cats.<\/p>\n

“They’re going to be learning to listen when they’re feeding [and] to look around them to make sure they’ve got really good safety,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“All these skills sound like things they should innately know how to do, but they didn’t evolve with cats and cats have different hunting strategies.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A Each captured animal is equipped with a radio collar to help track them.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)”These animals have got to learn what this predator is and what it’s capable of \u2026 to avoid it.”<\/p>\n

It is what sets the project apart from native species sanctuaries.<\/p>\n

“There’s a whole range of feral-free safe havens across Australia, but there are only a few places where there’s this work going on trying to expose native animals to feral predators and to train them,” Reece says.<\/p>\n

“Wild Deserts and Arid Recovery are the only two I’m aware of.”<\/p>\n

\"A Bilbies and golden bandicoots (pictured) are in excess numbers behind the fences and need to be released beyond the exclosures.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"A Professional shooters, camera traps, and Felixer grooming traps (pictured) are used to contain the cat population.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

Richard acknowledges they are still trying to find the right balance.<\/p>\n

“We’re still not sure that we’ve got the right formula \u2026 but we’re getting better at it,” he says.<\/p>\n

The team is seeing positive signs following the release of dozens of bilbies, bettongs, golden bandicoots and quolls in the wild training zone.<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing survival, we’re seeing breeding, we’re seeing new individuals joining that population that’s living beyond the fence,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“All of those are really exciting indicators.”<\/p>\n

\"A A sign warning motorists to watch out for bilbies, quolls, bettongs and bandicoots on the public road near Cameron Corner.\u00a0(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)Community connections\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout most of the past decade, Bec and Reece have been determined to engage the community in Wild Deserts.<\/p>\n

It is one of the criticisms pastoralists across western New South Wales<\/a> have levelled at the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n

“We find it really important to have \u2026 all these kids and families in this region involved in this place,” Reece says.<\/p>\n

“Even though it’s a remote place, there’s a great little community here.”<\/p>\n

\"Two Local pastoral families were invited to Fort Grey in Sturt National Park to release animals.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

The couple see the community involvement as one of their greatest achievements.<\/p>\n

“I’m constantly surprised at just how excited some of these people, who I didn’t think would be so much into this, are wanting to be involved,” Reece says.<\/p>\n

“Successful conservation projects need to involve the local community,” Bec says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“[And to] make sure that they have the opportunity to engage with the project and understand why you’re doing it but also get something from it.”<\/p>\n

The couple are raising three children, all born since the pair moved to Fort Grey, a former grazing property in Sturt National Park, in 2017.<\/p>\n

“It was just the two of us, and that’s nice, but it’s a bit lonely,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“So over the last few years we have built a workforce who are all mini ecologists \u2026 we hope.”<\/p>\n

\"A Reece Pedler, Isla, 7, Zachary, 5, and Edwin, 3, playing with their horse.(Supplied: UNSW\/Richard Freeman)\"A Isla, Reece, Bec and Zachary at nearby Lake Pineroo in 2022.(Australian Story: Vanessa Gorman)\"A Isla and Zachary get a picture together.(Supplied: UNSW\/Richard Freeman)Future guaranteed<\/p>\n

Until recently, the funding for the next 10 years of Wild Deserts was not assured.<\/p>\n

But in late June, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe signed off on a new agreement.<\/p>\n

“It’s really important for the future that we take responsibility for what we do now, being able to restore these landscapes,” Ms Sharpe says.<\/p>\n

“Spending time with the people who are doing this work, seeing their dedication and seeing these animals being released and now breeding \u2026 [has been] one of the highlights of my time as the minister.”<\/p>\n

Over the past 10 years, Reece says climatic conditions have been in their favour.<\/p>\n

\"An A fence line is cleared for one of the Wild Desert exclosures in 2019 during a drought.(Supplied: Wild Deserts)<\/p>\n

In the project’s early years, drought conditions made it easier to find and eliminate feral pests.<\/p>\n

Above-average rainfall in recent years has provided food, cover, and protection for native species, helping their numbers grow inside and outside the exclosures.<\/p>\n

\"A The same stretch of the exclosure following heavy rainfall this year.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

“If we could’ve ordered the climatic conditions \u2026 we would’ve ordered it just like it’s happened,” Reece says.<\/p>\n

“We’re definitely in a boom in the desert at the moment \u2026 some of that is due to really good seasonal conditions but some of that is due to our restoration work,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“For me, as a conservation biologist, it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to watch this restoration process unfold in front of my eyes.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recent heavy rainfall has highlighted the impact of these reintroduced species, with booming flora.<\/p>\n

“Because every tiny digging pit \u2026 has collected seeds \u2026 has collected water \u2026 we’re seeing really, really good plant growth,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“There’s quite a difference between where we have the animals and where we don’t.”<\/p>\n

National Parks area manager Jaymie Norris’s staff have noticed a significant difference too.<\/p>\n

“Undoubtedly there have been changes in the environment,” Jaymie says.<\/p>\n

\"National Working on the Wild Deserts project has been one of the highlights of Jaymie Norris’s career.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"Close-up Sturt’s desert peas have sprouted up across Sturt National Park.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)\"A NSW National Parks and Wildife Service staff have noticed changes in the landscape.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

“You find a lot of plant species \u2026 that are rarer to come across in other parts of the park.”<\/p>\n

While the changes can be subtle, Jaymie says there is certainly a shift.<\/p>\n

“Literally at a landscape scale you can start to see the difference,” he says.<\/p>\n

Further expansion<\/p>\n

According to Bec, the project has surpassed initial expectations.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got the largest rabbit-free area \u2026 4,000 hectares \u2026 we’ve returned six native species \u2026 and we’ve also put four of those beyond the fence,” she says.<\/p>\n

\"A Shark Bay bandicoots were released into the exclosures in May 2021.(Supplied: UNSW\/Richard Freeman)<\/p>\n

The next decade’s goals are shaping up to be even more ambitious, according to Bec.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to be in a really fantastic position to provide a giant landscape experiment,” she says, “where we can really understand how to do this restoration properly and how to do it at scale.<\/p>\n

\"A The team hopes the animals can survive predation and inevitable future droughts.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

“Especially beyond the fence and really inform future conservation strategies across Australia.”<\/p>\n

It could include neighbouring pastoral properties and other national parks.<\/p>\n

“I would like to start seeing how we might be able to return bilbies to other places where people are interested in seeing that sort of ecosystem restoration process,” Bec says.<\/p>\n

\"A The team hopes its work will help inform future conservation strategies.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde)<\/p>\n

And while Reece acknowledges Australia will never be rid of feral predators, their goal is a landscape where natives can survive their threat.<\/p>\n

“We need to try and breed smarter native species that can tolerate these animals and survive in a modern-day arid Australia,” he says.<\/p>\n

“How do we get these animals to take back the desert, to reinvade the places they used to be?” Richard says.<\/p>\n

“We’re still early days here \u2026 but it is a really tremendously exciting journey.”<\/p>\n

The hope is this precious desert ecosystem will be restored for generations to come.<\/p>\n

“I hope that we are leaving something that in future generations they’ll be able to look back on and be like, ‘Wow, those guys did a really epic job, thank God someone did something about it,'” Bec says.<\/p>\n

“So that we’re not just reading in history books about all the animals that once went extinct and are no longer here.<\/p>\n

“If we can work out some of the recipes for how to do this in different places, we might be able to change the future of conservation for a lot of these species.”<\/p>\n

\"Bec A golden bandicoot ready for the wild.(ABC News: BIll Ormonde)CreditsReporting, digital production, photography and drone footage: Bill Ormonde<\/a>Additional supplied photography: UNSW\/Richard Freeman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bec West has been involved in the Wild Deserts project for a decade.(ABC News: Bill Ormonde) It has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,29392,29390,157831,29391,32132,157829,157832,157828,29397,157830,29388],"class_list":["post-91081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-bilbies","tag-burrowing-bettongs","tag-crest-tailed-mulgara","tag-golden-bandicoots","tag-nsw-national-parks","tag-re-wilding-native-animals","tag-shark-bay-bandicoot","tag-sturt-national-park","tag-university-of-new-south-wales","tag-western-quolls","tag-wild-deserts-project"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}