One of the world’s most endangered animals has been given a new lease on life. A rise in population numbers, after breeding and conservation efforts for the northern hairy nosed wombat, has meant the species has been introduced to a third Queensland site, chosen for its ideal burrowing soil.
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00:00Waddling into their new home.
00:04The northern hairy-nosed wombats are settling into a new secure reserve near St George in
00:09southwest Queensland.
00:11This is the culmination of many years of hard work and planning.
00:16The wombats used to call much of eastern Australia home, but land clearing and pests destroyed
00:22much of their habitat.
00:24In the 1980s there were only 35 of the marsupials left.
00:29Now the most recent count is 400.
00:33Even at 400 they're still one of the most endangered animals in the world, so while
00:38this is very exciting and hopefully their future will now be assured with Power Runner.
00:45The expansion to Power Runner State Forest is the third sanctuary for the wombats after
00:49the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge near St George and Epping State Forest near Clermont.
00:56Wombat advocates say the new colony is a turning point for the species, with plenty
01:01of room to breed.
01:02So Power Runner was chosen because it has the ideal borrowing soil, obviously northern
01:07hairy-nosed wombats require deep sandy soils to make their extensive burrow systems.
01:13Queensland's Environment Department are hoping to introduce the species to even more locations
01:18in Queensland and New South Wales in the coming years.
01:21A fourth site is expected by 2041.
01:25We want to bring them back from being critically endangered.
01:27We want to see them not have to be on sites that are ring-fenced with predator-safe fencing.
01:34A brighter future for these cute creatures.