Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/910291
12 Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. Devil Ark Update Wednesday 8 November marked a significant step forward in the conservation effort of ensuring that our unique native wildlife have a chance to not only survive but thrive. Devil Ark as well as local and international project partners attended the site at the Barrington Tops for the grand opening of the new 64 hectare enclosure that was recently completed marking stage 1 of this ambitious project. "The launch of this part of the Devil Ark program is a milestone. The next milestone has to do with a lot of different species besides Tasmanian devils," said Australian Reptile Park Director John Weigel. "We're very excited now about going into that phase. Aussie Ark is what we are going to call it and it is going to involve up to seven additional marsupials", he said. The expansion will see the conservation effort extend from just under 100 hectares today to a total of about 3,000 hectares of land that has been graciously donated to the cause. "Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate on earth. That is largely responsible to the feral fox and the feral cat", remarked Tim Faulkner, Australian Reptile Park General Manager, "They don't belong here. We must fight the fox and cat". A health check of Eastern quolls resulted in the confirmation and discovery of 12 joeys following a pouch check of two females. This is exciting news for Aussie Ark and Australian Geographic partners who funded the building of the enclosures. What makes this so exciting is that the Eastern quoll has been extinct from the mainland for decades and today is only found in small isolated populations in Tasmania. They only breed once or twice during their lifetime, so seeing two healthy females with pouch young already in this project surely is a sign of the success of this type of conservation project and hopefully a positive sign of what is to come in the future. As we reported in a previous edition of the NSW Shooter QR, SSAA NSW members will get the benefit of being able to provide on ground management of feral animals in a co-ordinated and strategic manner. A draft plan has been submitted to Devil Ark and we now need to work through the formalities of how the plan will be executed with strict emphasis on safety and achieving positive outcomes that will contribute further to the success of the captive breeding program and the chances of releasing our precious native wildlife back into the wild where they once roamed.