The MacDonnell Ranges race of the black-footed or black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis) is listed as nationally vulnerable under the EPBC Act. However, in the Northern Territory it is classified as near threatened because of the significant populations that occur in the MacDonnell Ranges which is the largest area of suitable habitat available to the species.
The black-footed rock-wallaby is an important threatened species that is culturally significant to Indigenous people and plays a significant role in ecological processes within the rocky ranges of central Australia. As examples of its ecological significance, the species plays an important role in dispersing the seed of the nationally vulnerable MacDonnell Ranges cycad (Macrozamia macdonnellii) and is an important prey species of the endemic Bredl’s python (centralian carpet python, Mrelia spilota bredlii).
The black-footed rock-wallaby is one of the highest profile threatened species in central Australia. Tourists and local people regularly encounter it at popular ecotourism locations such as the Alice Springs Telegraph Station, Ormiston Gorge, and Simpson’s Gap.
Foundation Projects in the Upper North Coast region
Population Census & Potential Predator Assessment of the Black-footed Rock-Wallaby
From September 2009 to January 2010 the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded a project to assess the occurrence of Rock-wallabies at ten key sites within the MacDonnell Ranges including an area (Trephina Gorge Nature Reserve) where anecdotal information suggests that the species may have become extinct over the past ten years as a result of predation.
