10 JUNE 2024
At Mount Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, reintroduced native species such as the Chuditch, Woylie and Numbat are protected from introduced predators such as feral cats and foxes.
Last year, South32 committed A$2.94 million to support Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) work at Mount Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Australia. The Sanctuary, 350 kilometres northeast of Perth, aims to re-establish, monitor and protect significant populations of threatened mammal species.
Our support is now having an impact, with South32 representatives recently joining AWC team members to translocate 18 Chuditch to the Sanctuary. They joined the previously introduced population, which marked the return of the mammal to the area for the first time in around 100 years.
The 131,000-hectare Sanctuary includes a 7,838-hectare fenced exclosure, to protect reintroduced species from predators, such as feral cats and foxes, thought to be responsible for their decline.
The Chuditch is the largest marsupial carnivore in Western Australia and the tenth species to be reintroduced to the Sanctuary.
Over time, AWC predicts the Chuditch population will grow to 1000 at Mt Gibson, representing a projected eight per cent increase in the global population of the species.
“We are very pleased to support AWC’s work, and this successful translocation of the endangered Chuditch,” said Holly Buschman, South32 Vice President Sustainability Strategy.
“AWC’s Mount Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary is crucial in helping to protect these threatened species, now and for generations to come.”
South32’s funding supports ecological health monitoring, conservation and land management operations and feral animal control at Mount Gibson, as well as supporting broader AWC research.
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