Translocation Of Mala (Lagorchestes Hirsutus) From The Tanami Desert, Northern Territory To Trimouille Island, Western Australia

In June 1998, 30 mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus undescribed central Australian subspecies) were translocated from a semi-captive colony in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory to Trimouille Island, part of the Montebello Islands Conservation Park, off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. Mala are ‘Extinct in the Wild’ according to IUCN (1994, 2000) Red List Categories and Criteria. The translocation was made possible by the eradication of black rats (Rattus rattus) and confirmation of the absence of feral cats (Felis catus), which were recorded on the island in the 1970s. Post-release monitoring up to October 2001 showed that mala were breeding and expanding the area occupied.

[1]  Jeff Short,et al.  The fluctuating abundance of endangered mammals on Bernier and Dorre Islands, Western Australia - conservation implications , 1997 .

[2]  A. Burbridge,et al.  The 1996 action plan for Australian marsupials and monotremes , 1996 .

[3]  K. Johnson,et al.  Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, in the Tanami Desert. , 1994, Australian Mammalogy.

[4]  J. M. Courtenay.  The systematics of the hare-wallabies Lagorchestes Gould 1841 and Lagostrophus Thomas 1887 , 1993 .

[5]  Jeff Short,et al.  Reintroduction of macropods (Marsupialia: Macropodoidea) in Australia—A review , 1992 .

[6]  N. L. McKenzie,et al.  Patterns in the modern decline of western Australia's vertebrate fauna: Causes and conservation implications , 1989 .

[7]  J. E. Kinnear,et al.  The bromilow trap: a new risk-free soft trap suitable for small to medium-sized macropodids , 1988 .

[8]  R. Southgate,et al.  Aboriginal knowledge of the mammals of the central deserts of Australia , 1988 .

[9]  B. Bolton,et al.  The Western Hare-Wallaby Lagorchestes Hirsutus (Gould) (Macropodidae), in the Tanami Desert. , 1978 .

[10]  E. Mcconnell,et al.  A review of exertional rhabdomyolysis in wild and domestic animals and man. , 1977, Veterinary pathology.

[11]  Schmidt Jm,et al.  A review of exertional rhabdomyolysis in wild and domestic animals and man. , 1977 .

[12]  W. Ride,et al.  A guide to the native mammals of Australia , 1970 .

[13]  P. Montague.  35. A Report on the Fauna of the Monte Bello Islands. , 1914 .