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Brush-tailed bettongs (also known as woylies) once inhabited more than 60% of mainland Australia. However, the European colonization of the country brought with it predatory feral cats and foxes, and the destruction of much of the animal’s native grassland and woodland habitats.

Between 1999 and 2010, the species’ population size declined by 90% – a drastic drop that some research suggests may have resulted from the spread of blood parasites, alongside other factors. Today, the brush-tailed bettong is limited to just a few islands and isolated mainland pockets in Southwestern Australia: a mere 1% of its former range.

Marna Banggara

“We are on a mission, if you like, to bring back some of these native species that have gone missing in our landscape since European colonization,” says Derek Sandow, project manager of Marna Banggara, an initiative dedicated to restoring some of the Yorke Peninsula’s historic ecological diversity.

Formerly known as the “Great Southern Ark,” the project, which was launched in 2019 by the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board, was renamed to honor the region’s native Narungga people, who are heavily involved with the initiative.

“Marna in our language means good, prosperous, healthy, and Banggara means country,” says Garry Goldsmith, a member of the Narungga community who works on the project.

The team initially erected a 25-kilometer predator-control fence across the narrow part of the Yorke Peninsula to create a 150,000-hectare safe haven for the first species to be brought back: the brush-tailed bettong, known as yalgiri to the Narungga people. “We’ve reduced fox and cat impacts to a level that’s low enough for these yalgiri to be reintroduced and for them to actually find refuges, find food, and to survive themselves,” says Sandow.

Between 2021 and 2023, the team introduced almost 200 brush-tailed bettongs to the protected area. Sourcing these individuals from various remaining populations across Western Australia helped to “increase the genetic pool,” says Goldsmith.

EcoSystem Engineers

Brush-tailed bettongs feed on bulbs, seeds and insects, but their primary food source is fungi growing underground; to find it, they must dig. “They’re nature’s little gardeners,” says Sandow, “a single yalgiri can turn over two to six tons of soil per year.”

That’s why they’re the first species being reintroduced to the region, he says. All this digging aerates the soil, improves water filtration and helps seedlings germinate – benefitting other animals that rely on the ecosystem.

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A scallop hits da bricks. Filmed in Norway. From The Norwegian Fjords: Life in the Twilights (2018).

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Mountain lion kitten attacking mom, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. NPS photo.

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Raising arizona (1987) is like if the Zootopia abortion comic was good and also had a fundamentally different theme and story and also no one was a furry and also took place in arizona and also didnt touch on abortion at all

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why does gnome sometimes just make app icons small? please why are they small???

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mayfly problematic age gap of 2 hours

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baristas at the coffee shop I was at were talking about how much they love john green and looking for alaska and paper towns. perhaps this little corner suite is secretly a portal to 2015

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best way to combat ocd for me is by working non-stop I just did three inspections before lunch and I feel lightheaded from lack of food and water but on God for the past few hours I have staved off what would probably be an excruciating spiral. now the unfortunate part is that if I'm already in the middle of an ocd spiral then working is near impossible so that's cool

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hitting myself over and over and saying die die die die stupid die die die and then smiling serenely and saying I am Okay Tjere is nothing wrong wirh Me :)

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my bacteria #mybacteria

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my bacteria #mybacteria

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my bacteria #mybacteria

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ocd is exhausting and it's ruining my life and I don't know how to stop it and I'm tired and I just want a brain that works

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