Early success with golden bandicoot release

• Threatened golden bandicoots have been returned to their natural rangeland

• Baiting for feral cats improves golden bandicoots survival rates 

An ambitious plan to return threatened golden bandicoots to the wild at the Matuwa Kurrara-Kurrara Indigenous Protected Area, north-east of Wiluna in the Goldfields, has shown early signs of success.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said 93 golden bandicoots were moved from inside Matuwa's introduced predator-free enclosure back to their natural range in September 2015.

"Feral cats have been reduced by annual aerial baiting throughout Matuwa over several years and additional cat trapping was undertaken within the release area before and after the bandicoots were released," Mr Jacob said.

"Despite some losses of golden bandicoots to dingo predation, early signs are showing the animals are becoming established."

The Minister said recent trapping recaptured 30 animals and they had increased their body weight post-release by 30 to 50 per cent.

"All 26 females caught during two trapping sessions were carrying pouch young.  Of these, two females showed signs of successful weaning and remarkably, nine of the 10 females in the second trapping had four pouch young each. This is a great outcome because two offspring is the usual number," he said.

"Other positive signs were sightings of young golden bandicoot tracks and indications that animals were spreading up to three kilometres from the release zone.

"All the evidence suggests that the majority of the released animals have survived and there are sufficient resources to support the new population."

Fact File

• Parks and Wildlife's Wiluna Martu Operation Rangelands Restoration project aims to return 11 species of native mammals to Matuwa

• To date, the brushtailed possum and bilby have been established outside the introduced feral predator-free enclosure

• Matuwa (the former Lorna Glen Station) is jointly managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Martu people

• The Golden Bandicoots were moved from Barrow Island to Matuwa as part of the Gorgon Gas Project Offsets 

Minister's office - 6552 5800