2023-05-19 11:31:40
The bushy-tailed bettongia, a rare rabbit-sized kangaroo-like marsupial, is returning to Australia, more than 100 years after disappearing from the south of the continent.
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It is also called the Tasmanian bettong, it jumps with its hind legs like a kangaroo. These mini-marsupials once populated more than 60% of Australia before falling victim to cats, foxes and land clearing after European settlement more than two centuries ago.
From tens of millions, their population has grown to around 12,000 to 18,000 today, mostly on the islands of Australia, in protected enclosures and in a few pockets of Western Australia.
Now they are making a comeback in South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula after scientists released 120 of them over a two-year period to see if they can survive.
The little creatures are thriving, researchers said on Friday. They said they trapped 85 bushy-tailed bettongies, and found that 40% of them were born on the peninsula while 42 of the 45 females carried young in their pouches.
“It’s fantastic to see so many new animals,” said Derek Sandow, environmentalist for the Northern and Yorke Landscape Committee.
Their return to South Australia has been aided by an intensive cat and fox control programme, Mr Sandow said, as well as a “leaky” fence designed to reduce the passage of predators – without excluding them altogether.
“He’s a little ankle-sized kangaroo, a mini-kangaroo on steroids if you will. They have very powerful hind legs, they carry their young in their pouch, like a kangaroo does, but they only weigh a kilo and a half,” he explains.
“They dig a lot. A small bettongie can move tons of soil per year. They burrow into the soil, creating small micro-habitats for water infiltration and seed establishment. They therefore play a very important role in the ecosystem,” he points out.
In case of attack, females have an unusual but effective defense mechanism. To flee, they not only “zigzag at high speed through the bush”, but they throw their young out of their pouch in the hope of escaping while the predator preys on their offspring.
“It may sound like horrible parenting, but it’s a real achievement,” says Sandow, pointing out that females often have embryos ready in the pouch when their young naturally go away or die.
“They can have their baby ready to go in their pocket and then replace it,” adds the scientist.
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