Martu, the Traditional Owners of Western Australia’s western deserts, are working on their country with the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), cultural and land management organisation Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) and other partners to turn the trend around for the Black-flanked Rock-wallaby. Martu know the Black-flanked Rock-wallaby as Warru.
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, Backyard Buddies, KJ, BHP Billiton, and the Australian Government’s ‘Caring for Our Country’ program are helping to fund this important and much needed project.
The Foundation's contribution to this project was funded by purchases of Wallaby Backyard Buddy toys.
Martu, DEC and KJ aim to expand the distribution of Black-flanked Rock wallabies in the Western Desert by reintroducing the species to suitable parts of its former range.
The wallabies will be translocated to Durba Hills (known as Jilakurru by Martu), a sandstone range similar to the Calvert Range (known as Kaalpi by Martu) and 60 km to its west. Durba Hills contains permanent springs and rock holes and was known to be home to a Warru population which is believed to have become locally extinct in the 1980s.
Predator baiting operations will take place to support the translocation process, to control feral cat and fox numbers so that the Rock-wallaby numbers have a strong chance to grow. The wallaby translocation is planned to occur after winter next year. Martu and DEC will use Foundation funds this year to purchase equipment to monitor the existing population of wallabies at Calvert Range.
The monitoring equipment will also give an insight into the wallabies during the translocation process and their introduction into new habitat, and will help determine the success of the translocation.
Conservation officer for DEC Alison McGilvray, was happy to report that there is a lot of community excitement and involvement in this project.
In May 2011, a DEC field trip to Durba Hills (Jilakurru) had a great turnout, with over 18 permanent and casual staff of the KJ Jigalong Ranger team attending. The group established pre-bait monitoring on the site to detect invasive species and erected a number of signs to warn of the upcoming baiting work.
