Footage of a threatened desert marsupial has been captured in outback Queensland for the first time in a decade, ecologists say.
The tiny, carnivorous kowari lives in the arid regions of Queensland, where populations are vulnerable, and in South Australia where it is listed as endangered.
The footage in Astrebla Downs National Park in far-west Queensland was captured by Department of Environment and Science senior ecologist John Augusteyn earlier this month.
"They're a very charismatic little guy," he said.
"Anyone I show the video to, their first question is: 'Where can I get one at the local pet shop?'"
Mr Augusteyn said it was the first time in more than a decade that footage of a kowari on Astrebla Downs had been captured.
The marsupial, which weighs between 110 and 140 grams, has not been seen at nearby Diamantina National Park since 2012.
Populations have declined largely due to predation by feral cats.
But he said the story was not all sad, with "record numbers" of kowari sighted at Astrebla Downs during this month's monitoring trip.
That record number was 14 from a survey of almost 100 kilometres of tracks.
"That was quite good news, given the background of declines across the country."
Feral cat control efforts at Astrebla Downs have eliminated more than 3,000 cats over the past decade.
It is good news for the park's bilby population too, with 471 spotted on the recent trip.
"We've never recorded that many bilbies in the entire time that we've known bilbies to be living in western Queensland," Mr Augusteyn said.
"Unlike our southern counterparts, we don't have mice plagues, but we have an abundance of [native] rats in western Queensland.
"Like they say, everything's bigger and better in the west."
