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Rabbit rats birthed on new island home

Remote island within Garig Gunak Barlu National Park offers new hope for the species.
The inside of a collection bag looking down on small rat.

In August 2023 Territory NRM successfully translocated 46 brush-tailed rabbit-rats (Conilurus penicillatus) to a remote island within Garig Gunak Barlu National Park. Since then, at least three of the threatened rodents have produced babies, offering new hope for the species. 

The endangered semi-arboreal rodent appears to be almost extinct from all but the Cobourg Peninsula and a few remote islands. As with many small mammals in Australia, rabbit-rats are threatened by hot fires, habitat loss, predation by feral cats, and competition from introduced species.

Monitoring of the rabbit rat population will be ongoing with data being collected from each individual’s radio transmitting collar and a grid of camera traps.

Read the Territory NRM newsletter for more information.

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