| Here is your
chance to help an endangered Australian marsupial, Funds are being
sought to assist with the reintroduction of the bilby to Currawinya
National Park in south west Queensland. As a bilby supporter, you
will be a valuable contributor in the establishment of a wild breeding
population of bilbies of national significance.
Bilbies are desert-dwelling bandicoots,
about the size of a rabbit. They have large ears, a coat of soft,
light grey and tan hair, and a very distinctive black and white
tail. Of the six bandicoot species that once lived in the
arid/semi-arid area of Australia, bilbies are the only species
remaining. The bilby formerly occurred over much of eastern
Australia, west of the Great Dividing Range.
It has disappeared from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia
and
now only occurs sporadically in the isolated arid and semi-arid areas
of
Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
The reintroduction of bilbies to
Currawinya National Park forms a part of a national strategy to recover
endangered species to either their former status or, at a minimum, to
secure the status of existing wild populations.
This is how you
can help
To secure the bilby population on
Currawinya National Park, researchers will be constructing a 25 km2
enclosure. The 2 m high fence will be predator and feral animal
proof, providing the bilbies with a safe haven to live and breed.
We invite you, your school, family and
friends and local businesses to contribute $20 towards a panel of the
fence. Each donor will be officially recognised on-site at
Currawinya National Park in a leather-bound book permanently housed at
the site, and issued a personalised certificate. The fencing
project is expensive due to the size of the enclosure. The appeal
seeks to raise $300,000.
Donations will be graciously received
from larger corporate organisations wishing to make a larger financial
commitment to this worthy cause.
The Save the Bilby Appeal was launched
in Brisbane
on 28 March 1999 by the Minister for Environment and Heritage and
Minister
for Natural Resources, Rod Welford.
Why bilbies need
your help
The Queensland bilby population is the
most threatened and genetically distinct population in Australia.
It has declined in range over the past 10 years and is continuing to do
so. Presently, the bilby population is estimated at between 600
and 700 animals, and is spread very thinly across nearly 100,000 km2 between Birdsville and Boulia
in Queensland's far south west. The proposed reintroduction site
at Currawinya National Park falls close to the centre of the bilby's
former range in eastern Australia.
Scientists generally agree that the
combination of predation by exotic species (foxes and cats), a long
history of habitat alteration as a result of pastoral activities,
changes in fire regimes and competition with rabbits has impacted
negatively on bilby populations.
Researchers with Queensland Parks and
Wildlife Service have established a captive breeding colony of bilbies
in Charleville (south west Queensland). Bilbies from this
breeding program will eventually be released into the enclosure at
Currawinya.
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