In the middle of the Australian outback\u2019s arid deserts, many of the country\u2019s distinctive small marsupials \u2013 the bilbies, bandicoots and quolls \u2013 have been missing for a century or more, wiped out by land clearing and the hunting prowess of feral cats. Felis catus \u2013 introduced by European invaders and settlers \u2013 was too fast and too agile for the native mammals that had not evolved with this voracious and adaptable new predator.<\/p>\n
While efforts to rid the landscape of cats have so far failed, a group of scientists have entered into a bold project to see if small marsupials can train themselves to survive alongside the cats that drove their species almost to extinction.<\/p>\n
The \u2018training zone\u2019 in the Sturt national park, where quolls, bilbies and bandicoots have been released into an area where feral cat numbers are being controlled. Photograph: Richard Freeman\/UNSWA young bilby is released by ecologist Bec West. Photograph: Richard Freeman\/UNSW<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a grand experiment. So far, we\u2019re getting success with animals breeding in there. Numbers are building up,\u201d says Prof Richard Kingsford, the director of the University of New South Wales Centre for Ecosystem Science and project leader of Wild Deserts.<\/p>\n
The experiment is centred on a 100 sq km \u201ctraining zone\u201d created inside the sprawling 3,200 sq km Sturt national park in north-west New South Wales.<\/p>\n
Nearby are two fenced areas where the feral cats cannot reach and where conservationists have reintroduced six small marsupials \u2013 from crest-tailed mulgaras to bilbies and quolls.<\/p>\n
A feral cat spotted by one of the project\u2019s 50 motion-activated cameras. Photograph: Wild Deserts project<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were there 100 years ago and were all killed by cats and foxes. All these bite-sized marsupials were decimated,\u201d Kingsford says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how do we get these native species to smarten up to a new predator in the landscape that they didn\u2019t evolve with?\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201ctraining zone\u201d is bordered on two sides by dingo fences that also keep out some, but not all, cats.<\/p>\n
Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton\u2019s Clear Air column as a free newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n Inside, cat numbers are kept low by shooting and by devices that can tell the difference between a native animal and a cat, before firing a lethal toxin on to their fur which the cats lick off.<\/p>\n Now there are only about three cats in every square kilometre of the training zone.<\/p>\n \u201cOutside, there are 10 times that number,\u201d Kingsford says.<\/p>\n Estimates suggest feral cats kill more than 2 billion Australian animals<\/a> each year.<\/p>\n \u2018They are taking back the desert\u2019<\/p>\n Dr Bec West is the principal ecologist at the Wild Deserts project. She has lived in an old homestead in the national park for eight years with her husband and three young kids.<\/p>\n Since 2024, 51 western quolls, 305 bilbies and 234 golden bandicoots \u2013 all nationally threatened species \u2013 have been released into the training zone. Coming soon will be burrowing bettongs.<\/p>\n \u201cSome will be eaten. But predation is natural,\u201d West says.<\/p>\n A mulgara is released into the Wild Deserts precinct. Photograph: Richard Freeman\/UNSW<\/p>\n Last month, the Wild Deserts team caught 57 quolls, bilbies and bandicoots inside the training zone. The bilbies and quolls had been there at least a year and the bandicoots had survived three months.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Clear Air Australia<\/p>\n Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Every month, West\u2019s team review images from 50 motion-activated cameras around the training zone.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the last few months, we have been seeing more bilbies and quolls than cats. That is such a win. They are taking back the desert,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Evolving to survive<\/p>\n But how might the marsupials learn to live with cats? Some might simply watch and learn, picking up new strategies to be more wary.<\/p>\n