Postal Address
PO Box 482,
Mitcham, SA 5062
South Australia
Australia

Telephone
(08) 8131 0066

Email
fame@fame.org.au

Brush-Tailed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata)

Once widespread in areas of eastern Australia, this small to medium sized wallaby now occurs in fragmented populations in southern Qld, NSW, and two locations in Victoria (the Victoria wild populations were virtually wiped out in recent wildfires). They are the only species of rock-wallaby in Victoria, and were once found in large numbers in rocky areas prior to European settlement.

Threats to survival include predation by foxes, cats and wild dogs, and competition for food and shelter by goats and rabbits. At least one Qld population is threatened by death on the road that bisects its territory.

In 2003 a population of Brush-Tailed Rock Wallabies that had been established in the 1870’s was discovered on New Zealand’s Kawai Island. They were considered to be feral and designated for culling by NZ authorities. Efforts by several Australian conservation organisations (including FAME) resulted in the rescue and return of some 30 animals. These were established at several sites in NSW and Victoria, including Mt Rothwell.

Recovery actions include maintaining a captive breeding programme, monitoring existing populations, maintaining predator control, carrying out research, and providing community education. FAME is working closely with the Australian Ecosystems Foundation to transfer some of the wallabies from Mt Rothwell in Victoria to the feral-free Secret Creek Sanctuary in the Blue Mountains of NSW. We intend to establish a new colony of Brush-tailed Rock Wallabies there that will strengthen the genetics of remnant populations in NSW.

Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii)

A nocturnal marsupial once common across south-eastern Australia, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot has now virtually disappeared from the wild on the mainland and only exists in reasonable numbers in Tasmania.

On the mainland the Eastern Barred Bandicoot is critically endangered. Numbers have declined drastically down to only a single, naturally occurring population of about 5 animals. This population could be described as functionally extinct. Mainland bandicoots have been brought back from the brink of extinction by an intensive captive breeding and re-introduction program. There are now around 2,000 individuals in a handful of sites heavily managed to exclude predators.

Threats are mainly destruction of habitat (the Eastern Barred Bandicoot is a grassland animal, and destruction of around 98% of grassland habitat has seen a corresponding decline in the species), and predation by introduced animals such as dogs and cats.

Recovery for the Eastern Barred Bandicoot on the mainland is only likely within protected areas of natural habitat such as Mt Rothwell in Victoria, where FAME established a population in 2004.

Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)

The Eastern Quoll is a small nocturnal marsupial with a wet pink nose, large ears and black or brown fur with beautiful white spots. Once called the “Native Cat” because European settlers in Australia thought it looked like a cat, the Eastern Quoll is actually smaller in size and not related to the domestic cat.

Quolls are an important small carnivore and scavenger, taking vulnerable, sick and very old and young animals and ensuring the survival of the fittest. They eat mostly insects and small animals as well as grass and fruit. The Eastern Quoll is vulnerable to predation by cats and foxes, to diseases carried by domestic cats, and to fragmentation of habitat.

Eastern quolls once lived in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. They still live in good numbers in Tasmania but disappeared from the mainland many years ago.

FAME is working closely with the Mainland Eastern Quoll Management Group to
re-establish the captive breeding programme for the Eastern Quoll on the mainland.

Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii)

Gilbert’s Potoroo is a small marsupial now found only in one small area of dense scrub on a rugged, windswept WA headland thrusting out into the Southern Ocean. Its numbers are so low that a chance event like a bushfire or a drought could push the species into extinction.

With an estimated population in the wild of only 30 to 40 animals, critically endangered Gilbert's Potoroo is Australia's rarest mammal.

First discovered in 1840 by naturalist John Gilbert and recorded again only a few times over the next 40 years, this small rat-kangaroo was thought to be extinct since the late 1870s until rediscovered in 1994 at Two Peoples Bay near Albany, on the South Coast of Western Australia.

The recovery plan for Gilbert’s Potoroo includes the establishment of a captive breeding colony using Long-Nosed Potoroos as foster mothers to maximise an increase in numbers so that a second colony can be established. Investigation of Bald Island off the WA coast is being trialled as a suitable site for the new colony. FAME is working in partnership with Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservation to save this species.

Greater Stick-Nest Rat (Leporillus conditor)

The Greater Stick-Nest Rat (the Lesser Stick-Nest Rat is extinct) was once widespread across the south western and south central Australia from Shark Bay as far as south western NSW. It is now extinct in the wild on mainland Australia, living in reasonable numbers only on offshore islands.

The Stick-Nest rat is a small rodent with fluffy yellowish-brown fur. It is unique in its construction of communal nests of sticks and grasses that can over time reach a size of up to 1 metre high and 1.5 metres in diameter. Communities of up to 20 animals live in the nests, safe from the dingoes and eagles that were once their major predators.

The introduction of sheep and cattle as well as foxes and cats had an immediate impact on both the animals and their nests and they were rare by the middle of the 19th century.

FAME has supported the establishment of captive breeding colonies of Stick-Nest Rats in South Australia and NSW.

Long-Nosed Potoroo
(Potorous tridactylus tridactylus) - SE mainland form

The Long-Nosed Potoroo is one of the smallest and most ancient members of the kangaroo family. It has an important relationship with soils and grasses in particular as it inhabits dense scrub and the understorey of grassy woodlands.

This species is threatened by habitat destruction and the effect of feral predators, and is classified as endangered.

FAME has supported thriving populations of Long-nosed Potoroos in protected areas of South Australia and Victoria since 2000.

Mala or Rufous Hare Wallaby
(Lagorchestes hirsutus) - Central mainland form

The Mala is a rather shaggy, red-coated wallaby about the size of a Brush-Tailed Possum.The mainland mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus hirsutus) is considered to be one of Australia’s 3 most critically endangered animals (according to ANZECC – Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council).

There were once 10,000,000 Mala right across Australia in arid and semi-arid areas. The species is now considered to be extinct in the wild. Due to habitat destruction and predation by foxes the remaining animals only survive in protected areas and are confined to small populations in wildlife parks and zoos.

In 2001 FAME funded the establishment of a colony of Mala in the protected area of Scotia Sanctuary in NSW.

Mt Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-Wren
(Stipiturus malachurus)

The Mt Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-Wren (MLRSEW) is a tiny bird, weighing just 7 grams and measuring approximately 20cm in length. Its six feathered tail is as long as its body.

The Mt Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-Wren is nationally endangered. It lives in the swamps of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula (a critically endangered habitat) and is one of SA’s most endangered birds. Around 500 birds survive, and numbers continue to decline despite active efforts to assist recovery.

The principle threats to this bird are human activity (mainly destruction of the specialised habitat) and catastrophic events such as wildfires.

Recovery activity includes fencing off important areas and/or protecting them under heritage agreements, providing information and education for local land holders on how to recognise and manage such areas, and offering technical and financial support to encourage better protection of either the birds or the swamps.

FAME is working in partnership with the Conservation Council of South Australia to save this endangered bird and its habitat.

Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)

The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat is the most endangered of Australia’s three wombat species. Once found south as far as the Victorian border, now reduced to one population of around 113 located at Epping Forest National Park in eastern Queensland. The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat was only identified as a new species in 1937.

Clearing has severely reduced suitable Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat habitats and competition for food from sheep and cattle has reduced their chances of survival. Predation by dingoes is a threat (10 animals were taken in 2000/01).

The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat recovery plan is one of the best and most active in Australia. Work occurs in two parts: protection and monitoring of the population on ground at Epping Forest, and a research programme at Rockhampton Zoo.

At Epping Forest a dingo proof fence has been erected and is constantly maintained by a volunteer caretaker programme that also conducts fire management and weed control. The recent development of supplementary feed and water stations is helping to offset the problems of local drought which impact older animals and lactating females.
The Wombat Research Centre at Rockhampton is developing reproductive and husbandry techniques on the Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat for application to its endangered cousin, the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat.

FAME is currently negotiating a partnership project with Queensland wildlife authorities to help save the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat.

Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)

The Numbat is a small mammal with gold and black stripes and a long fluffy tail. A fully grown female is not much bigger than a man’s hand. The diet of the Numbat consists exclusively of termites, and because termites are only active during daylight hours, the Numbat is Australia’s only strictly diurnal (active during the day time) mammal.

The Numbat was once present right across southern Australia, including desert regions. European red foxes were introduced into the Australian bush in 1871 and immediately had a devastating impact on many native animals, particularly small to medium-sized mammals like the Numbat that live on the ground or partly in the trees.

By 1910 the Numbat had disappeared from all of south-eastern Australia and were confined to a few small pockets in the south-west of Western Australia. In 1982, with less than 200 individual animals left, the Numbat was named the world’s most endangered species.

Numbats still exist in the wild in Western Australia, and thanks to the efforts of FAME in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Land Management and Earth Sanctuaries, thriving populations of Numbat have been established in protected areas of South Australia and NSW.

Red-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale calura)

Listed as Endangered by both the Environment Australia Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act 1999) and the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List of Endangered Species.

The Red-tailed Phascogale is a small brown coloured carnivorous marsupial with a body measuring up to 11cm and a long brush-like tail measuring up to 13cm. The tail is rust coloured on top and black below. The brown fur on the head and body is sprinkled with grey, and the colour fades to a creamy white on the underbelly and around the eyes. Ears and nose are light red. The species was first described by naturalist and artist John Gould in 1844. The name Phascogale calura means ‘beautiful-tailed pouched weasel”. Other names: Red-tailed Wambenger

The Red-tailed Phascogale lives in dense, tall vegetation (typically dry eucalypt forests) that provides potential nest sites, protection and foraging. Phascogales are arboreal, spending most of their time above ground in trees and bushes. They travel through the forest canopy, leaping up to 2 metres from branch to branch as they search for food and shelter. Phascogales have adapted to living and climbing in trees by developing grooved pads on the bottom of their feet. Phascogales nest in holes, hollows, and the forks of trees or in the skirts of grass trees, lining the nest with leaves and twigs.

Red-tailed Phascogales are nocturnal and feed mainly on insects, as well as the occasional small bird or mammal. They will sometimes forage on the ground. Phascogales do not usually drink, obtaining moisture through their diet. Apart from their role in maintaining a balance in the insect world, Phascogales prey on the introduced house mouse and help to keep their numbers down.

Once widespread throughout the arid and semi-arid regions of central and northern Western Australia, central Northern Territory and the far west border between NSW and Victoria, the species has not been seen outside WA since the 1950’s and its range is now reduced to remnant bushland in the WA wheat belt.

The Red-tailed Phascogale has a short life. In the wild males rarely live beyond their first mating, following which they usually die of stress related diseases. Females can live up to four years of age. Mating occurs during a three week period in July, and most births occur in mid-August after a gestation period of a month. Litters contain up to 8 young, all of which will be weaned and independent from the mother after about 20 weeks.

The habitat of the Red-tailed Phascogale is highly flammable and hence fire is one of the greatest threats to the survival of this species. Foxes and cats prey on Phascogales, but they are most at risk from the destruction of their habitat.

FAME, the farming community of Narambeen, and Wildlife Research and Management are providing a feral-free area for Phascogale and other endangered species at Wadderin Sanctuary in the WA wheat belt. A population of Red-tailed Phascogale will be established there in 2008.

Smoky Mouse (Pseudomys fumeus)

The Smoky Mouse is an endangered native rodent, similar in size to a small rat. It has soft, fine, pale grey to blue-grey (eastern form) to black (western form) fur with a grey to white belly and a ring of dark hairs around the eye.

The Smoky Mouse was once widespread in south-eastern NSW and in parts of Victoria, but since European settlement this range has declined and is currently limited to a small number of sites scattered throughout western, southern and eastern Victoria, south-east NSW and the ACT.

It requires a habitat with a diversity of shrubby vegetation for protection and food. It eats seeds, fruits, flowers and invertebrates in summer and autumn, and truffle-like fungi in the winter and spring when seeds are less abundant.

Threats include loss of habitat, fire, predation by introduced carnivores, and competition from introduced animals like cattle and rabbits that compete for food and deplete shrub cover. No recovery plan yet exists for the Smoky Mouse, but FAME is working with the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage and the National Parks Foundation of NSW to establish a captive breeding and research programme to identify the best way to save the species.

Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus obesulus)

The Southern Brown Bandicoot is a small mammal with brown fur with distinct golden streaks over most of its body. It once ranged throughout south western and south eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Numbers are still good in Tasmania, but its mainland status is endangered or locally extinct.

Bandicoots were important in the natural control of insects and in maintaining healthy soil and vegetation. All members of this species have been affected by reduction and removal of habitat, by the effects of predators like the cat and the fox, and by trapping and baiting.

Bandicoots breed readily in protected areas. FAME has been supporting populations of Southern Brown Bandicoot in protected areas of SA, Victoria and NSW since 1994.

Spotted-Tailed or Tiger Quoll
(Dasyurus maculatus maculatus) - SE mainland form

The Tiger Quoll is the largest marsupial carnivore surviving on mainland Australia. Tiger Quolls are more than 50% larger than other quolls and, unlike other quoll species, have white spots that extend along their tail. Tiger Quolls have bright eyes, a moist pink nose and sharp teeth. They have a pointed snout and a long tail. Their fur has a coarse texture and is red-brown to dark brown with white spots of varying size above and pale below.

Tiger Quolls are found in a range of forest habitats, from rainforest to open woodland. They require forest with suitable den sites such as rock crevices, caves, hollow logs, burrows and tree hollows. The Tiger Quoll was once common throughout south eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Since European settlement it has become rare across most of its range. Land clearing: loss and fragmentation of habitat threaten the survival of the Tiger Quoll. Populations of Tiger Quolls are now scattered and vulnerable to chance events such as bushfires and disease. They must compete for food with foxes and cats, and these introduced species also prey on young quolls. Quolls, especially female and juvenile Quolls, are susceptible to 1080 baits used to control fox and wild dog numbers. Numbers of the Tiger Quoll are declining.

FAME has recently supported research on the effects of wildfire on Tiger Quoll populations in Victoria and NSW.