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Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby Release in Grampians 24-Nov-2008 At 12:35:32 PM john s

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On 18/11/2008 Paulie wrote:

>... are these wallabies genetically endemic to the area or are they
>from a different gene pool?

They are from different stock... The last endemic Grampians colony of BTRW (that lived around Muline) dropped to just a single female by around 2001. She was captured and taken to Tidbinbilla where, I think, she died.

The individuals released near Moora are from various genetic backgrounds and were bred in Adelaide Zoo, Healesville and Tidbinbilla.

Apparently, there is a lot of genetic diversity even within the small wild populations in southern Australia because the animals generally don't move very far and so even nearby colonies have developed distinct genetics over time.

There is a good e-newsletter put out regularly by the BTRW Recovery Team. You can get on the mailing list by contacting Lucy.Clausen@dse.vic.gov.au