Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary records first baby bilby since reintroduction

In Easter news that has conservationists jumping with joy, Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary has welcomed its first baby bilby since the species was re-introduced in May. See the images here.

Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary ecologists are jumping with joy after spotting their first baby bilby since the species was re-introduced last May.

Newhaven ecologist Aleisha Dodson said the bilby was one of six species that had been re-introduced to the 9450ha predator-free sanctuary, about 350km from Alice Springs.

Ms Dodson said the team at Newhaven regularly conducted surveys of the animals through cameras and during their latest survey the team was able to observe a small bilby following its mother.

She said ecologists had also done track surveys within the Newhaven area and detected evidence of juvenile bilbies at some of the sites, signifying there could potentially be more young bilbies in the sanctuary.

Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary ecologist Aleisha Dodson said the first sighting of a baby bilby at the sanctuary was “very exciting” and showed the species had established itself since it was reintroduced in May.

“It’s really exciting, because it does prove that the animals out there are established and are breeding which is what we need for populations to establish and grow.

“It’s really good news for us and hopefully it all continues.”

Ms Dodson said bilbies once occurred across 70 per cent of mainland Australia and now were only found in about 20 per cent of their previous range.

The news comes as the latest annual Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) Bilby Census reveals bilby populations within AWC sanctuaries have more than doubled in a year, from 1480 in 2022 to 3315 in 2023.

A bilby being re-introduced at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary in May.

“It’s definately great news having these safe havens able to establish these populations as there’s not many left in the wild,” Ms Dodson said.

The AWC survey covers six sanctuaries across Australia including Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, Mount Gibson in Western Australia, Yookamurra in South Australia, and Scotia, Pilliga and Mallee Cliffs National Park in New South Wales.