Rewilding The Wild

Australia is a mega-diverse country - its isolation as an island has given rise to a remarkable array of unique species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. 

But Australia’s wildlife is in serious trouble - 34 Australian mammal species have gone extinct since European settlement, which is the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world. Furthermore, approximately 1,800 native plant and animal species are currently facing extinction. Unless we take urgent action, more species will be added to Australia’s appalling extinction record. 

But there is hope. Against all odds, populations of some species cling to survival by a thread. Protected from feral predators by specially designed conservation fences they’ve been shown to thrive.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is taking action - we are the largest private owner of land for conservation in Australia, and protect more threatened and endangered species than any other non-government organisation in the country. 

AWC is responding to Australia’s extinction crisis by undertaking the most ambitious rewilding program ever in Australia. Threatened species translocations are a critical part of AWC’s approach to conservation, restoring small mammals in landscape where they have gone regionally extinct.

These actions help build populations, maintain genetic diversity and, hence, adaptive potential in our native species. However, for some species, the environmental conditions in their current location may simply become uninhabitable under climate change. In these cases, translocation of species to a cooler or wetter climate may be required.

As a national leader in reintroductions, AWC is well placed to undertake translocation projects and provide advice to others in the conservation community, as this need arises. AWC is also a national leader in the implementation of ecological monitoring on our conservation estate, with our Ecohealth program tracking the status and trends of key conservation assets and threats on our properties.

While our progress is well documented and we celebrate AWC’s transformative conservation model, the imperative to stay focused on our mission and rapidly scale up our conservation actions is as urgent as ever. The challenge confronting us is certainly immense and it’s easy to lose hope. Our experience over the last 30 years however has taught us the Australian bush is resilient and today we have the knowledge and skills to address these threats and restore Australia’s biodiversity.