Woylies jump at chance to leave bush sanctuary and take on feral cats | Breaking News & Latest Australia Updates

Woylies jump at chance to leave bush sanctuary and take on feral cats — By Brianna Melville ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt Topic:Conservation Hope springs eternal as ecologist Harriet Hart releases an endangered woylie.(Supplied:...

By Brianna Melville

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt

Topic:Conservation

Hope springs eternal as ecologist Harriet Hart releases an endangered woylie.(Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

Almost 150 woylies, or brush-tailed bettongs, are released outside a predator-safe zone in Western Australia's Wheatbelt.

Cats remain a threat but conservationists say it is important the endangered marsupials learn anti-predator behaviours.

It is hoped the woylies will breed and re-establish a strong population where they were once considered extinct.

Conservationists say the release of more than 100 woylies beyond the safety of a predator fence is a big, if bold, step towards repopulating the endangered species in Western Australia's remote Wheatbelt.

The animals were released "beyond the fence" at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, 350 kilometres north of Perth, last week, following several decades of work to restore the population in the protected area.

Once found across mainland Australia, the population of woylies —or brush-tailed bettongs— fell by almost 90 per cent due to land clearing and invasive species brought about by European settlement.

In the Wheatbelt, the local population was believed to be extinct for more than 100 years.

A conservationist gives one of the woylies its freedom.(Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

Over four nights, 147 woylies were carefully released into bushland outside Mt Gibson's fences, one of the largest and fastest translocation events by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

Sixteen ecologists worked with local Badimia Rangers to relocate the animals.

Wildlife ecologist Louis O'Neill said the newly released woylies faced some risks outside the safe area, but it was important thatconservation effortsshook off a "safe haven" mindset.

"We admit that we may lose a few individuals, but that's part of the process," he said.

"Having the cat presence is important for the woylies to have some predator awareness because we can't get rid of cats across all of Australia.

"The woylies can learn todevelop anti-predator behaviours."

The predator-safe fence marks the border between haven and brave new world for the woylies.(Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

The population at Mt Gibson has grown to more than 1,000 animals from the 162 introduced in 2016.

Dr O'Neill said moving the population outside the fence would help the woylies resume their natural role in the broader ecosystem.

"They can help with the soil turnover, nutrient recycling, seed germination," he said.

Despite the dangers, conservationists are confident the animals will survive and breed.

Woylies hit the ground running on their release.(Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

Working in their favour is recent baiting and cage trapping on 60,000 hectares of nearby bushland, with recent surveys confirming a low population of feral cats.

"There's a low enough threshold that the woylies can coexist with [cats]" Dr O’Neill said.

A number of woylies have also climbed the sanctuary's 2-metre fence in recent years, kick-starting the repopulation by themselves.

Forty woylies have been fitted with radio collars so ecologists can track them.(Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservancy)

"The young are growing up and surviving on the outside."

Forty of the woylies were fitted with radio collars so that ecologists could track their movements outside the fence.

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