Saving Victoria's brush-tailed rock-wallabies from extinction

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-03 00:01

Australia; NSW; VIC; SA

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Brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) are one of Victoria’s most critically endangered mammals and are also vulnerable nationally, so Australian researchers investigated what led to these critters almost vanishing in the state, and what can be done to bring them back from the brink. Brush-tailed rock-wallaby numbers declined dramatically in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries following European colonisation, leaving just three populations, the researchers say. Modern threats include small population sizes, a lack of genetic diversity, introduced predators - especially foxes - and climate change. Potential solutions include managing predators more effectively, moving wallabies between populations to boost stagnant gene pools, and studying how these animals will be affected by climate change, the authors conclude.