WA numbats picked to populate NSW sanctuary

• Thirteen Perth Zoo captive-bred numbats translocated to NSW
• Part of a national effort to boost survival prospects
• Numbats radio-collared to track progress

Thirteen numbats bred at Perth Zoo are in transit to New South Wales this morning as part of a national numbat recovery program.

Environment Minister Bill Marmion said five males and eight females were selected from Perth Zoo's breeding program to be released at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's (AWC) Scotia Sanctuary, 150km south of Broken Hill in western NSW.

"Scotia Sanctuary already protects two wild populations from feral predators and these numbats will boost numbers and add to the genetic pool," Mr Marmion said.

"All the numbats at Scotia Sanctuary are descended from the population at Dryandra Woodland near Narrogin, although half the original founders arrived via another Dryandra-descended population at AWC's Yookamurra Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia."

The Minister praised the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Perth Zoo and AWC for delivering a world-class recovery program.

"DEC has been working to protect the species as part of its Western Shield wildlife recovery program, and has translocated both wild and captive-bred numbats across the State," he said.

"All 13 numbats are radio-collared so their release will be tracked. These were purchased by community group Project Numbat, which appealed to its members to raise the $250 needed for each collar, so I commend the community effort that has gone into this translocation.

"Numbats have declined drastically because of predation by introduced foxes and cats, and without active programs to manage feral predators, species like the numbat will soon become extinct.  We are working hard to conserve Western Australia's native mammal emblem and an important part of that is to involve agencies and community groups to ensure the species is protected."

       Fact File

• Numbats are listed as endangered in the World Conservation Red List of Threatened Species
• Numbats mate in January and their young become independent in October
• Numbat translocations are usually carried out in December so adult females and young can settle in before the mating season

Minister's office - 9220 5000

Photo caption: One of the radio-collared numbats destined for New South Wales.