DEC undertakes urgent black-flanked rock wallaby recovery actions

Environment Minister Bill Marmion has announced urgent measures are under way to assist two key Wheatbelt rock wallaby populations while an investigation is conducted into their decline.

Mr Marmion said a key population of the species at Nangeen Hill near Kellerberrin had declined and there was concern the population would be lost without intervention from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).

The Minister said the exact cause of the decline was not known. Predation by foxes, drought and potential weed toxicity as the rock wallabies grazed on plants they normally avoided, are among the causes being considered.

Preliminary results from a survey at Mount Caroline Nature Reserve also near Kellerberrin have also indicated significant decline in the rock wallaby population. The Minister said DEC was undertaking recovery actions and investigations at both of these important sites for the threatened species.

"DEC has stepped up fox baiting at Nangeen Hill and Mount Caroline from once every four weeks to fortnightly," Mr Marmion said.

"They are also providing supplementary food and water as well as engaging researchers and conservation groups to determine the condition of other populations and potential causes for this decline."

The black-flanked rock wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis) is a threatened species under the WA Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 and is listed as vulnerable according to World Conservation Union (IUCN) criteria.

The rock wallabies are found on only two Western Australian islands, a few isolated locations in the Pilbara and Goldfields, and at seven sites in the Wheatbelt. Most of the Wheatbelt sites are small reserves with relatively small populations.

The two major sites are Nangeen Hill and Mount Caroline nature reserves which have held more than 100 and more than 300 animals respectively in recent years. 

"Black-flanked rock wallabies are a prominent species in the Wheatbelt with significant community interest in their survival and management," the Minister said. 

"Since the early 1980s, staff from DEC and its predecessor agencies have initiated a series of programs aimed at conserving populations of this species. The emphasis was on controlling introduced European foxes that were taking their toll on the rock wallabies as well as other similar sized native animal species.

"For many years the species was making a good recovery, particularly as the baiting program was widened considerably with the introduction of the Western Shield wildlife recovery program that involves extensive baiting for foxes and feral cats and reintroducing animals into their former range."

Mr Marmion said the Nangeen Hill and Mount Caroline populations had been critical in providing animals to establish new rock wallaby populations near Perth and as far away as Esperance.

"The condition of rock wallabies at Nangeen Hill was last assessed in November and they were found to be in reasonable condition," he said.

"A comprehensive survey of this population was undertaken in April this year following advice from Dr Jack Kinnear, who pioneered the recovery of the wallabies in the Wheatbelt in the 1980s.

"This survey showed that the condition of the animals had deteriorated and the numbers had decreased to just 14 rock wallabies compared with 112 recorded in 2007."

Minister's office - 9220 5000