The brush-tailed rock-wallaby is the ACT’s mammal emblem, but is critically endangered: fewer than 100 individuals remain, and it has not been seen in the wild since the 1950s.

The Jedbinbilla Safe Haven, opened this week at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, will help protect the rock-wallaby from predators and save them from extinction – the culmination of ACT Government efforts to protect and breed the species that began in the mid-1990s.

The fox-proof open-range facility aims to grow the captive population to several hundred animals, which will be reintroduced across its range in the ACT and Victoria, Marc Perri and Richard Hill, co-chairs of the National Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Recovery Team, said.

Dr Sarah May, the Recovery Team’s chair and threatened species program manager at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, said: “This is an incredible achievement, that could not have been done without the commitment, passion and vision of Tidbinbilla’s staff, and others from across the Parks and Conservation Service. Despite significant setbacks, including floods and COVID, we have achieved something we should all be very proud of as well as providing a safe home for brush-tailed rock-wallabies.”

Rebecca Vassarotti, ACT Minister for the Environment, Parks and Land Management, said this was a milestone for the ACT Government’s commitment to protect threatened species in the territory.

“The Jedbinbilla Safe Haven will be a crucial step towards [the rock-wallaby’s] recovery,” Ms Vassarotti said.

“The animals produced by this breeding program are now more genetically robust than the few remaining animals in the wild. By breeding genetically robust individuals in captivity, the program ensures the preservation of genetic diversity, essential for the species’ survival.”

Zoos Victoria, Prague Zoo, and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water also collaborated on the project.