Rare footage of the elusive northern hairy-nosed wombat — the largest burrowing marsupial in the world — has been captured in regional Queensland, raising hopes the species may be back from the brink of extinction.
Once widespread throughout Queensland and New South Wales, the critically endangered animals are now only found in two small regional Queensland sites.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy photographer and videographer Brad Leue unexpectedly captured the footage of one of 16 mammals believed to call the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge (RUNR) home in south-west Queensland in October.
"Only 16 northern hairy-nosed wombats are at RUNR, with around 84 active burrows, so it's no easy feat identifying which burrows the wombats are using as they use multiple exits and entrances," he said.
"They are very elusive and have been known to stay in their burrows for 10 to 12 days if they sense any change in their environment, like a human scent."
With direction from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), Mr Leue and AWC ecologist Andy Howe spent a week at the reserve near St George, about 400 kilometres west of Toowoomba.
The pair knew that wombats were "not lured by food like many other animals", so setting camera traps at the burrows for a glimpse of the much-loved mammals was the only option.
The day before they arrived, heavy rain at the refuge offered "somewhat of a clean slate", with fresh wombat tracks easily visible.
And it all fell into place at burrow number six.
"When we went and checked the cameras the next morning, and Brad was looking through his card, we were ecstatic and high-fiving with the excitement of the imagery," Mr Howe said.
"These images are crucial as they can be used to educate the public, and education is the key.
"People only love what they know."
Mr Howe said it was "amazing" to secure the rare footage.
"There are now only two colonies of northern hairy-nosed wombats in existence — many less than the giant panda and black rhinoceros, each with numbers in their thousands," he said.
On burrowed time
The northern hairy-nosed wombat species almost became extinct in the 1980s when numbers plummeted to 30 at the Epping Forest National Park (Scientific), about 400 kilometres south-west of Mackay.
QPWS established a dedicated program to save the species from extinction, which included the development of a second reserve — the RUNR, about 900 kilometres south near St George in south-west Queensland.
QPWS director of threatened species operations Manda Page said the second site was crucial to the species' survival.
"If there was a fire, drought or disease breakout at Epping, the wombats could have been lost forever," Dr Page said.
The first translocation of wombats from Epping to RUNR happened in 2009, and it is believed about 350 wombats now live between the two sites.
The northern hairy-nosed wombat — the largest and rarest of the wombat species — averages 32 kilograms and 1 metre in length.
Given the finite space of the current two sites and the predicted population growth of the large animals, the Queensland Government announced last month that a third wombat protection site had been added to its wombat recovery program.
Dr Page said it had taken nearly a decade to find the site at the Powrunna State Forest, north-west of St George.
She said it would perfectly accommodate the large "bulldozers of the bush", which require a specific soil mix of clay and loam to ensure their deep burrows do not collapse.
"When we completed the analysis at Powrunna State Forest and determined it was suitable habitat, there was a lot of excitement amongst the threatened species team," Dr Page said.
"This site will help boost the number of northern hairy-nosed wombats, and it significantly contributes to the recovery of this critically-endangered species."
Dr Page said the 2,800ha Powrunna site should be welcoming wombats in two to three years.
Why are numbers so low?
Northern hairy-nosed wombats are slow breeders, with the females giving birth to only one joey a year.
With a critically low population, losing one individual is a big deal.
"We know this amazing and unique animal is recovering, though very slowly, but it is still in a precarious situation, and we still have a long way to go," Dr Page said.
In the meantime, Mr Leue said staking out the elusive animals was his dream gig.
"To play some role in all the goals that are being kicked to try and save this amazing animal is pretty special," Mr Leue said.
