Overview
- Conservation groups released 100 eastern barred bandicoots onto Phillip Island near Melbourne as part of a push to restore the species in the wild.
- The animals come from a world-first program that crossed long-isolated mainland and Tasmanian lineages to boost genetic diversity.
- Scientists say the mix fixed inbreeding problems that sank earlier releases, including an undershot jaw that made digging and feeding hard.
- The recovery plan follows a 500-in-5 model to build at least 500 animals across a minimum of five sites with three years of genetic monitoring.
- Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund put in about AU$2.5 million to back work by Odonata, Cesar Australia, and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Recovery Team after the species was declared extinct in the wild in 1991 when numbers fell to about 60.