Rufus Hare-wallaby

Rufous Hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes hirsutus

The Rufous Hare-wallaby or Mala is now extinct on mainland Australia; the last wild populations disappeared in the 1980s and early 1990s due to drought, wildfire and fox predation. Rufous Hare-wallaby populations only remain on two Western Australian islands and inside predator-proof enclosures. To the indigenous people of Central Australia, Mala were an important food source and are a significant mythological symbol.

Distribution: Bernier and Dorre Islands, Western Australia, and introduced to Trimouille Island
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Evolutionary distinctiveness: Low