The rufous hare-wallaby, otherwise known by its Indigenous name — mala — was once found in abundant populations across the central and western parts of mainland Australia.
Nowadays, the small fluffy macropods, victims of predation and environmental change, are only found in the wild off the coast of Western Australia or in captivity.
Bronte Stray is a specialist mammal zookeeper and looks after the mala in the nocturnal house at the Alice Springs Desert Park.
"These two mala are quite important to us at the desert park because they're not from [here]. They're actually from Yulara," she said.
The Australian mala recovery committee was formed to help boost the numbers given how low the population numbers were.
"They did genetic surveys of all the mala that we have in captivity," Ms Stray said.
"Having genetic diversity will mean that there will be some individuals that have a natural immunity, so it creates a population that is more able to cope with disease."
The plan was to breed the mala from other areas.
"[The committee] wants to start mixing up the genetics to strengthen the genetic pool," Ms Stray said.
Hard desert life
Ms Stray said predators were the main reason for the decline.
"Native predators would be things like dingoes, when they were around here, western quolls, and thylacines," she said.
"But unfortunately, the major predators at the moment are cats and foxes [which] are doing a very good job of predating a lot of native species," she said.
Dodging predators and getting a feed in arid Australia meant that the macropod had to adapt.
"They're a pretty specialised arid species," Ms Stray said.
"Being in the desert you're never sure where your next meal is going to come from.
