A group of endangered grassland earless dragons will find a new home today, with a new breeding facility to be opened at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
The grassland earless dragon is only found in the ACT region, and six of them will join brush-tailed rock-wallabies, eastern bettongs and the northern corroboree frogs in the feral-predator free habitat at Tidbinbilla, in the territory's south-west.
The dragons arriving at Tidbinbilla were bred at Melbourne Zoo, and supporters of the project hope the $60,000 facility will help conserve the species.
"Australia is facing an extinction crisis. If we are to halt and reverse the damage we're doing to our natural environment, we must challenge ourselves, and test and trial approaches to tackle extinction rates and re-introduce native fauna back into the wild," ACT Minister for the Environment Rebecca Vassarotti said.
"They will also provide opportunities for research aimed at conserving and managing this species in the face of threats such as predators, habitat destruction and climate change."
The specially-designed quarantine facility was designed to house up to 80 dragons, and each dragon has its own space with a burrow, grasses to climb on and a "basking platform".
ACT Minister for Land Management Mick Gentleman said the facility also had large outdoor predator-proof ring tanks, which allowed ecologists to observe the grassland earless dragons in a more natural environment.
"This controlled, biosecure facility will keep diseases out and provide optimal conditions for the dragons' wellbeing," Minister Gentleman said.
"The ACT government is providing $2.1 million over three years for the initial stage of the project, which includes large-scale landscape work to restore and re-connect habitat to help grassland earless dragons and other grassland species survive in the landscape."
The faciliy is the culmination of a partnership between Melbourne Zoo and the University of Canberra, who have been studying the earless dragons for some time, and the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve threatened species team.
Professor Stephen Sarre from the University of Canberra said the facility was a welcome extension to their research.
"The University of Canberra has been collaborating with the ACT government for over 15 years in studies of the grassland earless dragon and established the first captive colony," Professor Sarre said.
"They are endangered for a reason — they don't live very long, they live one to three years in the wild.
"We are very keen to support the new facility at the Tidbinbilla facility in whatever way we can."
