The re-introduction of the yellow-footed rock- wallaby to the northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Summary

The yellow-footed rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus), Vulnerable in South Australia after pastoral development, fur hunting, herbivore competition and fox predation drove it from Aroona Sanctuary in the northern Flinders Ranges by 1983, was reintroduced there using Adelaide Zoo's genetically managed captive colony following a proposal from the 1994 National Rock-Wallaby Symposium. After feral animal control began in July 1995, release candidates were selected for genetics, health and body condition, disease-screened, and gradually acclimated to native vegetation in large pre-release enclosures. To maximize founder genetic diversity and post-release cohesion, joeys were removed from mothers a month before release for hand-rearing, timed so diapause embryos from unrelated sires would be born around release and emerge from the pouch five to seven months later, while triggering synchronized estrus in the females. Ten wallabies were released in September 1996 and two more in 1997, tracked initially by radio triangulation every six hours for six weeks, then by twice-daily checks; any mortality signal prompted recovery and pathology investigation. Multiple generations have since been born and survived at the site for over 13 years, with more than 70 individual animals recorded, monitored through a long-running partnership involving Zoos South Australia, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Flinders University with strong local school involvement. Major difficulties included a permanent dam attracting introduced predators and competing herbivores, fading community engagement over time, and dependence on a temporary mine's continued support. The project rates itself Successful, citing over a decade of sustained multi-generational persistence and strong early community partnership.