Bilbies Are Back in the Wild at Currawinya
After years of preparation, planning and hard work, a remarkable moment has arrived: 150 greater bilbies have been released beyond the predator-proof fence at Currawinya National Park.
This is the first time bilbies have been reintroduced to the wild in Queensland in an area where they had previously become locally extinct. Wild bilbies were last recorded at Currawinya in the 1970s.
A Collaborative Achievement
This release has been made possible through a strong collaboration between Save the Bilby Fund, the Queensland Government’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI), and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
For more than two decades, Save the Bilby Fund and Queensland’s environment department have worked together to protect bilbies, manage their habitat and control introduced predators at Currawinya National Park.
An Extraordinary Week
The translocation was one of the most challenging and rewarding weeks in the history of Save the Bilby Fund.
Our team was joined by 28 experienced volunteers and veterinarians, who worked through the nights to help safely complete this enormous operation. While the rest of the world slept, our team was trapping, examining, preparing and releasing bilbies under the western Queensland stars.
First, we had to trap bilbies inside the fenced reserve and identify the best candidates for release. More than 280 bilbies were carefully assessed, and every one received an excellent health score.
Among them, we found some very special old friends.
One was Margaret, one of the first bilbies released inside the fence. Margaret was bred at our Charleville facility and conditioned in our crèching pens before being released into the sanctuary. To our delight, she was carrying two babies in her pouch.
Margaret is an absolute trouper — and her discovery was a wonderful reminder of how far this conservation program has come.
150 Bilbies Take Their First Steps
From the bilbies assessed, we selected 150 healthy animals to become the pioneers of this historic release.
Each bilby was handled with great care as it began its new life beyond the fence. For our team, watching them disappear into the landscape was an incredibly emotional experience.
After so many years of work, seeing them take their first steps into the wild felt almost impossible to believe.
The Work Continues
The release is a major milestone, but it is only the beginning.
Our team will continue monitoring the bilbies and managing feral predators and other threats around Currawinya National Park. The Felixers will play an important role in helping protect these pioneering bilbies from feral cats as they settle into their new home.
The project is the result of years of conservation breeding, habitat management, predator control, health assessments and careful planning. It also builds on the success of the Currawinya sanctuary, where more than 700 bilbies are now thriving behind the fence.
A Shared Conservation Success
This achievement belongs to everyone who has supported the bilbies over the years.
It belongs to the volunteers who worked through the nights, the veterinarians and conservation experts who cared for each animal, and the team members who have dedicated themselves to protecting bilbies at Currawinya.
It also belongs to the supporters who helped make this release possible — including those who contributed to extending the Felixer lease and ensuring predator protection would be in place beyond the fence. And it belongs to every person who donated towards the trackers, radio equipment, traps, fuel and other essential resources needed to make this release possible. Your support helped turn a long-held dream into reality.
Thank you for believing that bilbies belong in the wild.
It is still early days, and there are many challenges ahead. But if we can continue protecting the landscape and supporting these pioneering animals, one day you may be able to see a real bilby living wild in this remarkable part of Queensland.
For now, we are celebrating 150 extraordinary little Australians taking their first steps towards a wild future.