INDIGENOUS RANGERS HELP RARE ROCK WALLABIES AFTER WILDFIRE HITS POPULATION

Indigenous rangers in the Kimberley have supplied supplementary food to help one of Australia’s rarest animals survive after a devastating wildfire swept through its habitat.

It’s believed the endangered wiliji, a distinct subspecies of black-footed rock-wallaby, exists in only three locations – the Grant, Edgar and Erskine Ranges – in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Erskine Range (Malarabba) has by far the highest density of the three known populations. Nyikina Mangala Rangers, of the Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation (WAC) monitor all three locations with sensor cameras.

They raised the alarm after a wildfire burnt 75% of the wiliji’s Erskine Range habitat in November 2023.

“The wiliji means a lot to the ranger group because it’s a very important species here, belongs to the Kimberley, so we’ve got a job to look after it properly,” said William Watson, Head Ranger, Nyikina Mangala Ranger Group.

Scientific analysis of the camera data, now submitted for publication, confirmed the ranger’s concerns.

It found the median wiliji abundance estimates dropped from 160 in 2021 to 108 in 2023 after the wildfire passed through.

In February the rangers put six metal turkey feeders filled with kangaroo pellets in the Erskine Range habitat to help the wiliji until natural food supplies could recover.

“It’s very necessary because the wiliji are suffering hard times after the big fire,” Mr Watson said during the operation to place the feeders.

Lotterywest, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, and The Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species (FAME) supported the supplementary food mission

“When large wildfires go over the rocks and burn out their food the wiliji are forced to forage out in the lowlands where there are more predators. By supplying supplementary food we hope the wiliji don’t have to leave the safety of their rocky homes,” said Nick Weigner, Kimberley Program coordinator, WWF-Australia.

“The Erskine population is the highest density we know of and possibly the highest number of wiliji left on the planet, so it’s incredibly important that we protect this population,” he said.

The rangers appealed for drivers on the Great Northern Highway to be on the lookout when they approach the Erskine Range.

“Just be cautious because you see a lot of wilijis out on the side of the road,” said Nyikina Mangala Ranger Lane Broome.

He said funding assistance is important “because it gives us access to new equipment and gives us more knowledge about the wiliji and what we need to do to protect them”.

With vegetation recovering at Erskine Range the supplementary feeding stations were removed in late July after helping the wiliji through lean times.

But cameras at the three wiliji locations have revealed the extent of feral pests with cats detected 62 times and red foxes three times. The Kimberley is considered the extreme edge of the Australian distribution of foxes.

Foxes have only been recorded at the Grant Range wiliji location so far. Their presence is a big concern for rangers because wiliji are already in low numbers at Grant Range and are an easy target for a fox.

The ranger team now has feral pest management strategies in place at all three locations and is practising right way fire to help protect the wiliji populations from future wildfires.

Meantime, a sensor camera image of a wiliji pair mating at Erskine Range was a welcome sight for rangers doing all they can to help this crucial population recover.