Adelaide Zoo and Australian Wildlife Conservancy release 75 threatened marsupials into protected sanctuary
Seventy-five Red-tailed Phascogales have taken a giant leap back into the wild, with Adelaide Zoo teaming up with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) to release the tiny carnivorous marsupials into Scotia Sanctuary on the South Australia and New South Wales border.
The release is another important milestone in Zoos SA and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s conservation partnership, with more than 200 Red-tailed Phascogales returned to protected habitats at Scotia Sanctuary and Mallee Cliffs National Park over the past four years. Both areas that this species had been declared as locally extinct at for a number of years.
Four Adelaide Zoo keepers travelled more than six hours to transport the animals to the 8,000-hectare feral predator-proof sanctuary, where the phascogales joined other threatened native species including Greater Bilbies and Numbats.
What is a Red-tailed Phascogale?
The Red-tailed Phascogale is a small carnivorous marsupial native to Australia’s mallee woodlands. Weighing just 40 to 60 grams, the species is closely related to the Tasmanian Devil despite its tiny size.
Known for their energetic personalities and sharp hunting instincts, Red-tailed Phascogales spend their nights searching for spiders, moths, crickets and other insects amongst trees and leaf litter.
Despite their boundless energy, the species has a surprisingly short lifespan. Male phascogales typically survive for only a single breeding season, living to around one year of age before dying after mating, while females can live for up to 36 months in the wild.
Breeding is the primary focus throughout their short lives, with females able to raise up to eight joeys at a time.
While tiny, the species plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem balance by helping control insect and small rodent populations.
The species faces ongoing threats from habitat loss and introduced predators, making conservation breeding and release programs critical for its survival.
A year-long process to prepare animals for release
Behind every wildlife release is months of careful planning and preparation.
Adelaide Zoo Keeper Amelia said preparing the phascogales for life in the wild begins nearly a year before release, starting with the breeding season between May and August.
“We work hard to mimic their natural environment as much as possible,” she said.
“That includes encouraging natural behaviours like hunting live insects, climbing and adapting to taller environments, all to help set them up for success once released.”
In the lead-up to the release, Adelaide Zoo keepers worked closely with ecologists from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy to ensure each animal was healthy and ready for the journey.
This included taking morphometric measurements, weighing the animals, microchipping them for identification and placing them into appropriate social groupings before transport.
Inside the release night at Scotia Sanctuary
Under the cover of darkness, keepers and ecologists split into teams across three different release sites within the sanctuary to carefully return the phascogales to the wild.
For the keepers involved, the experience was unforgettable.
“Being able to see the Red-tailed Phascogales released into their environment is an absolute highlight of a zookeeper’s career and something we all dream to achieve,” Amelia said.
“The highlights of the release night were seeing animals capturing their own prey almost immediately and even spotting what was believed to have been a phascogale released in a previous year.”
The sighting offered a hopeful sign that previously released animals are surviving and adapting successfully within the sanctuary, with follow up surveys likely to provide more information on this.
Why predator-proof sanctuaries matter for threatened species
Scotia Sanctuary provides a safe haven for some of Australia’s most threatened native wildlife.
The 8,000-hectare introduced predator-proof area protects species from introduced predators such as foxes and cats, allowing native animals the chance to recover and breed in a safer environment.
The Red-tailed Phascogales now join several other threatened species already thriving within the sanctuary, contributing to a healthier and more balanced ecosystem.
See red-tailed phascogales at Adelaide Zoo
Visitors hoping to spot these tiny marsupials closer to home can visit Adelaide Zoo’s Nocturnal House, where a group of male Red-tailed Phascogales can be seen bouncing through their habitat and enjoying a tasty snack.
Every visit to Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park helps support Zoos SA’s conservation programs working to save species from extinction.
