Black Footed Wallaby project: Keith tracks the endangered Black Flanked Rock Wallaby in the Outback region of South Australia
The Australian Outback can be harsh and unrelenting - to survive out here you have to be well prepared and resilient. The original inhabitants have a special connection with the land and that's particularly so for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara people.
Their country, the APY Lands cover 103,000 square kilometres in the far north-west corner of South Australia. It includes the ancient Musgrave Ranges which stretch more than 200 kilometres along the South Australia, Northern Territory border.
We recently dropped in on the tiny settlement of Umuwa where, in the dry bed of Officer Creek some Elders drew animal tracks in the sand and spoke of what it used to be like when the wildlife was plentiful.
Sadly, one native animal now all too rare is the Warru or the Black Flanked Rock Wallaby. It used to be one of the most common mammals in northern South Australia but now has the dubious honour of being our most endangered with as few as 120 left in the APY Lands.
But there is some good news - the Warru Recovery Project is ensuring their survival. About 15 Warru have been fitted with radio collars - enabling the team of local rangers to gather valuable data on what the Warru needs to survive.
Jasmina Muhic, Project Officer: "Warru is the Pitjantjatjara word for black footed rock wallaby and there are two colonies on the APY Lands - one in Pitjantjatjara which is on the northwestern side of the APY Lands and not far from here, New Well."
After being captured, the next step happens thousands of kilometres away at the Adelaide Zoo where we filmed Zoo Vet, Linley giving a captured Warru a thorough health check-up. After a clean bill of health, he joins the 29 other Warrus who now call Monarto Zoo home and are at the heart of the successful breeding program.
At Monarto we met Maureen, a young wallaby joey recently weaned from her mother. She's the latest success story having been bred at Monarto and will eventually be released into back into the APY Lands.
Mick Post, Keeper: "I guess the most satisfying part of our job is when we breed animals for release and being involved in getting those animals back into the wild. That's really a buzz for us."
As Maureen gets used to her new enclosure at Monarto, work is underway on a 'hardening off' pen in the APY Lands. There, the Warrus will learn how to be wild again before being released.
It's a wonderful example of conservation at work and successful cooperation between groups at opposite ends of the state. For more details, check out the Zoos SA website and click on the Conservation Ark link. If you have any further questions please email then to info@postcards-sa.com.au
Adelaide Zoos
Conservation ArkPublished 24th July 2010
