150 bilbies released into Currawinya National Park after decades of absence

In a night-time operation in western Queensland, the Save the Bilby Fund released 150 bilbies into Currawinya National Park, marking the first re-introduction to a site where the marsupial vanished in the 1970s. The effort follows a decade of preparation and six consecutive nights of releases. Although a 25-kilometre fence erected in 2003 was compromised by feral cats in 2010, the area inside now supports an estimated 1,000 bilbies, according to recent counts.

Since 2021, a few of those fenced bilbies have escaped and formed a thriving population beyond the barrier, which was originally designed only to keep predators out. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Threatened Species Operations officer Steve Peck said the new cohort will be tracked using cameras, tracking devices and burrow surveys. Officials hope the program will eventually allow visitors to see bilbies in the open and perhaps even warrant a “Beware of Bilby Crossing” sign.