NSW Brings 13 Extinct Species Back After 100 Years

Bilbies are hopping through NSW grasslands again after disappearing for more than 100 years.

The NSW government just extended partnerships with Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the University of NSW for another ten years to continue wildlife recovery efforts in national parks. Together, they've already brought 13 locally extinct species back to areas where feral cats and foxes once drove them out.

The program operates across three major protected zones: Mallee Cliffs National Park, Pilliga State Conservation Area, and Sturt National Park. Inside these feral predator-free areas, numbats, western quolls, bridled nail-tailed wallabies, and Shark Bay bandicoots are thriving again after generations of absence.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe recently helped release burrowing bettongs back into Mallee Cliffs after health checks. She described watching species return to landscapes they'd been erased from as a chance to reverse the extinction crisis.

These three sites form part of a larger network of ten protected areas across NSW. Collectively, they're working to reduce extinction risk for 33 locally extinct species and protect 45 more threatened animals.

The stakes are high. Around half of NSW's surviving mammal species face extinction, with feral cats and foxes remaining the primary threat.

The Ripple Effect

The next decade won't just focus on keeping populations safe inside fences. Scientists are studying what makes reintroductions successful so they can eventually release animals beyond protected boundaries.

Professor Richard Kingsford from the Wild Deserts Project explains that their science-based approach produces lessons applicable across NSW and nationally. The knowledge gained from watching marsupials reclaim their desert ecosystems after a century helps inform conservation efforts everywhere.

AWC Chief Executive Tim Allard calls it proof of what long-term collaboration can deliver. By rebuilding ecosystems and reconnecting communities to nature, these partnerships demonstrate that extinction doesn't have to be permanent.

Local communities are also reconnecting with species their grandparents only knew from stories. Volunteers and neighboring landholders have joined the effort, creating a network of people invested in keeping these animals around for future generations.

After a hundred years of absence, native species are reclaiming their home.

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