{"id":672686,"date":"2026-05-15T13:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672686\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:58:21","slug":"conservationists-discover-woylies-can-thrive-outside-fences-in-the-wheatbelt-again-in-new-groundbreaking-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672686\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservationists discover woylies can thrive outside fences in the Wheatbelt again in new groundbreaking study"},"content":{"rendered":"

A study has found threatened woylies can once again thrive in the Wheatbelt, just twelve months after a cohort of the species was moved to a feral predator-free zone.<\/p>\n

Woylies, also known as brush-tailed bettongs, are a native Australian animal that was locally wiped out decades ago due to predatory animals.<\/p>\n

Studies over recent years have reintroduced the species to enclosed areas inside WA, prompting experts at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy to explore if woylie populations could continue to grow outside a fenced region if feral cat populations were controlled.<\/p>\n

The wildlife organisation relocated 147 of the endangered critters to a new area inside Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in 2025 in order to test their theory \u2014 marking the first time in more than a century that the species has been released into the broader Wheatbelt region.<\/p>\n

One year later, and experts are thrilled to report that the woylies are thriving inside the Wheatbelt and are even having babies.<\/p>\n

\"LastCamera IconLast year, Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) released 147 Woylies beyond the feral predator-free fenced area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region. It was the first time in over a century that the species had been released into the broader region. Credit: Brad Leue\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy<\/p>\n

Aliesha Dodson, a field ecologist for the AWC, said the team observed woylies more than 100 times on camera and the species had spread across 65km2.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly results from this trial are remarkable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first successful reintroduction of the species to the Wheatbelt outside a fenced area, and its further evidence that woylies are among the native species with the potential to naturally rebuild their populations once the pressures of introduced predators, such as cats, are reduced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Camera Icon Woylies released outside the fence. Credit: Brad Leue\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy<\/p>\n

The reintroduction of the species to WA is just the first phase of the Mammal Restoration Project, the biggest wildlife restoration project of its kind in Australia.<\/p>\n

The project hopes to reintroduce 10 locally-extinct animals to the Mt Gibson sanctuary over the next decade.<\/p>\n

Regional ecologist Dr Amanda Bourne said managing feral predators is one of the biggest conservationist challenges in Australia.<\/p>\n

\"ACamera IconA Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong) springs from a translocation bag after being opened by Harriet Harte, Australian Wildlife Conservancy Ecology and Conservation Intern, outside the feral predator-free fenced area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary on Badimia country in Western Australia\u2019s Wheatbelt region. Credit: Brad Leue\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy<\/p>\n

\u201cThese beyond-the-fence releases are not about abandoning fences, they are about building on their successes and using fenced areas as springboards for broader landscape-scale restoration,\u201d Dr Bourne said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the fence, the work is harder. It\u2019s emotionally and physically demanding, complex and inherently risky. But these trials offer one of the few realistic pathways for restoring native mammals and their roles in ecosystems much more broadly across Australia.<\/p>\n

\"ACamera IconA Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong) leaps out into the Wheatbelt after receiving a quick health check from Australian Wildlife Conservancy ecologists. The individual was one of 147 Woylies that were released outside the fenced area at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary. Credit: Zarah Wessels\/Australian Wildlife Conservancy<\/p>\n

\u201cFor these animals, safe havens will remain essential for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project has also resulted in the reintroduction of brushtail possums and western quolls into the Wheatbelt sanctuary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A study has found threatened woylies can once again thrive in the Wheatbelt, just twelve months after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1313,64,63,44,128,45,63811,338],"class_list":["post-672686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-science","tag-wa-news","tag-wheatbelt","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}