Gold Coast bilbies at Dreamworld used in national park breeding and repopulation program

HOW do you get two bilbies to breed? Well you get them into a Gold Coast program which has been described by animal experts as “Tinder for bilbies. Yes it’s dating for native creatures.

A PAIR of Gold Coast bilbies will kick off a breeding program to across the state’s west.

Emma and Jamie, named for the Dreamworld program’s ambassadors — Jamie Durie and Emma the Wiggle, will lead the charge to repopulate the species in the Currawinya National Park in southwest Queensland.

Get ready for Bilby Tinder Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

The pair were placed in an enclosure in the Coomera theme park this morning in the hopes they will click and mate.

Dreamworld life sciences general manager Al Mucci described the process as “Tinder for bilbies”, referring to the popular smartphone dating application.

The spawn of the pair will be released inside a predator-proof enclosure built within the national park in 2002.

Mr Mucci and Environment Minister Steven Miles put the pair together and said the breeding program was critical.

The pair were put into an enclosure this morning photo: Steve Holland

“The bilby is one of Queensland’s 16 endangered mammals and the main threat to its existence is feral cats,” Mr Miles said.

“The predator-proof enclosure safeguards 25 square kilometres of bilby habitat and was badly damaged by flooding in 2011 and 2012.

“Unfortunately the flood damage let feral cates back in where they decimated the existing bilby population.

“Removing feral cars from side the enclosure has been a major focus of ours in the past two years.”

More than $700,000 will be spent fixing the fence, upgrade and maintaining it.

The loveable creatures’ children will be released in the national park. Photo: Steve Holland