A marsupial once extinct in central Australia now thriving, thanks to heavy summer rain. Native Bettongs were only reintroduced to the central desert a few years ago, at a wildlife sanctuary north-west of Alice Springs, and now a survey has shown their numbers are nearly double.
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00:00They may be small, but these mammals are back in a big way.
00:07Bettongs have a huge impact on the environment in Central Australia, improving vegetation
00:11growth and plant pollination.
00:14As part of a survey to assess population size and health, ecologists have been catching
00:18and releasing the burrowing and brush-tailed bettongs.
00:22Once caught, they're microchipped, checked for parasites, weighed, with a DNA sample
00:28collected.
00:29They're nocturnal creatures, so it's late-night work, but the results are encouraging.
00:35I was really excited.
00:36We started catching them in a lot higher numbers than we expected, almost double what we got
00:42last year.
00:4392 brush-tailed bettongs and 100 burrowing bettongs were found, compared to about 50
00:48of each species last year.
00:50It's thought high rainfall has boosted the numbers.
00:53We've had a few good years of above-average rainfall, so the conditions here are really
00:57good at the moment, so there's plenty of food sources for them.
01:01This is quite a significant survey, because it marks two years since the burrowing bettong
01:06and nearly three years since the brush-tailed bettong were reintroduced to Central Australia.
01:11Prior to the reintroductions, both species were missing from the landscape for more than
01:1660 years.
01:18Australia is the leading country in animal extinction, so it's really important that
01:25we aim to conserve these animals, especially these unique animals.
01:30A species these scientists hope will continue to thrive in the desert.