In the early hours of the morning Adrian Wayne carefully peels back the edges of a dark cloth bag.
Inside is a recently trapped brush-tailed bettong, known in Western Australia as a woylie.
Crouched on the floor of dense bushland, the senior research scientist meticulously inspects the small, but feisty marsupial.
"He's a four for body condition, he's got a good amount of meat on him" Dr Wayne says.
The health of this critically endangered species is important.
The woylie once inhabited 60 per cent of mainland Australia, but predators like cats as well as habitat loss has seen the species reduced to just two indigenous populations, including one monitored by Dr Wayne in the Upper Warren region of WA.
Population and health checks are conducted regularly by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
Recent trappings have found their numbers are on the rise.
"They are still recovering from a pretty severe decline they had about 10 years ago," said Dr Wayne.
"They are probably at about 50-60 per cent of where they used to be, so they are making good progress."
A furry excavator
The woylie is a unique creature. Its small diggings for food can move an estimated six tonnes of dirt each year.
"They're digging up the soil creating seed beds for new seeds and new plants to grow.
"All that soil turnover, all that spreading of fungi spores and of plant seeds massively transforms our bush and keeps it healthy."
It is for that reason this little eco-warrior is getting ready for a big journey.
Woylies on the move
The woylie will be the first of an estimated 20 species to be translocated to the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia over the next two decades.
The innovative project, more than a decade in the making, has seen 150,000 hectares of land, which includes farm land and national park, turned into a semi-protected animal haven.
"It's really quite ground-breaking," said Darren Grover, World Wildlife Fund-Australia's (WWF) head of healthy land and seascapes.
WWF Australia has partially funded the project which aims to bring life back to the degraded landscape and ecosystem on the Peninsula.
A 25-kilometre fence is being built at the foot of the peninsula to try to reduce the impact of feral cats and foxes.
"This is a living landscape — there are towns and villages within the fenced area and there are roads, driveways and there are a number of gaps in that fence," Mr Grover said.
"That means that animals can still move in and out of that area but it means animals like foxes and feral cats can be targeted."
Best from the west
Twenty woylies are expected to be sent from the Upper Warren region to the Peninsula in June, and over time another 80 will follow.
Adrian Wayne said sending woylies from an original population would give the translocation the best chance of success.
"It's giving them the numbers to be able to start a founder population, and the genetic diversity that's going to allow that species to adapt to that new environment in the very best way it possibly can."
Reintroducing a species is nothing new, but the Yorke Peninsula project is ambitious due to its size and scale.
With 30 mammals already extinct in Australia and 100 on the brink – Adrian Wayne believes this project could pave the way for species recovery across the country.
"This is our legacy and this is our heritage," he said.
