BY OLIVIA DILLON
Thirty long-nosed Potoroos are set to be released into a Barrington wildlife sanctuary this week.
One of the lesser-known Australian marsupial species, the Potoroo is one of the smallest and oldest relatives of the kangaroo, and has remained relatively unchanged for around 10 million years.
Since opening their Hunter sanctuary in 2020, Aussie Ark have worked to enclose 400 hectares of native habitat, removing feral predators to provide a safe refuge for the animals.
Aussie Ark Curator Kelly Davis, said the organisation is committed to reviving the species in the Hunter.
"Since European settlement, foxes and cats have been a massive issue for them, causing a real decline in their numbers. So, when we made the transition to Aussie Ark, they were one of the species we wanted to bring onboard," Ms Davis said.
"They were found in the Barrington Tops historically and you still get the odd one or two that's hanging on, but they've had a really big population decline and they're a really important species."
"Having an insurance population of Potoroos that we've built up over the last five years, the idea behind that is that we are returning those animals to where they have been lost," she said.
Referred to by the team as "ecosystem engineers", it's hoped the Potoroo will also have a positive impact on Barrington's environment.
"They're really vital. They're actually fungivores, so they're eating mushrooms and other fungus and basically in doing that, they're turning over the soil and spreading those fungal spores, which in turn, helps to break down the leaf litter and reduces the fuel in the bush," Ms Davis said.
"We're talking about an animal that really only gets to about a kilo, and in the numbers that they should have and have historically had, they do play a role in reducing the severity of bushfires."
The critters are expected to be released in the coming days, following final health checks.
Ms Davis said "It's crazy to think something so small has such a big impact."
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| Image: Aussie Ark |
