Critically endangered hairy-nosed wombats find new home in St George

The population of northern hairy-nosed wombats was as low as 35 in the 1980s, but a painstaking conservation effort is slowly bringing them back from the brink of extinction.

A colony of hairy-nosed wombats will be established at the Powrunna State Forest, north of St George.

St George will be home to 60 northern hairy-nosed wombats that are set to move into new conservation enclosure Powrunna State Forest in the coming years.

The critically endangered animals are among the rarest land mammals in the world.

The Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation is establishing a new population at Powrunna, after successfully growing the population of 400 wombats at Epping Forest National Park near Clermont and establishing a new population at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge, also near St George, in 2009.

The Powrunna site was chosen because it has the right ratio of sand and clay soil to support the wombats burrows.

“It is always a special day when you can say a species has been brought back from the brink of extinction,” Environment minister Leanne Linard said.

“It is very exciting to see the first wombats to be translocated from Epping to Powrunna State Forest.

“The translocation program has taken years of meticulous planning by my department, and the wombats have a wonderful new home at Powrunna, which will help future-proof the population of this critically endangered species.

Queensland’s population of hairy-nosed wombats was as low as 35 in the 1980s.

The new enclosure is part of the $40 million Queensland Threatened Species Program and came about through a partnership with the DESI, Gunggari Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, and Gunggari Native Title Holders, Glencore and The Wombat Foundation.

ggari Native Title Holders cultural heritage co-ordinator Maud Kearns said traditional owners were proud to support the project.

“This support ranges from cultural heritage survey clearances, cultural heritage awareness training with staff and contractors working on the project and being part of the project management committee.

“This is a unique project to be involved with, and GNTAC and Gunggari Native Title Holders look forward to continuing our partnership and connection with Powrunna State Forest and DESI.”

Originally published as Critically endangered hairy-nosed wombats find new home in St George