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Funds help fight

Staff ReporterHills Avon Valley Gazette

The centre took in a group of seven woylies from a tiny patch of woodland in the South West called Tutanning, about a year ago.

The Department of Environment and Conservation had been watching with concern as the Tutanning population declined. The reasons for the population crash were unclear.

Kanyana set up enclosures in the hope the animals would breed. All four females later produced joeys. Three of the females have joeys again this year, making the program a success.

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WWF-Australia said it would fund the new woylie enclosures.

Kanyana executive chair June Butcher said the donation would be used to install water pipes, taps, safety doors, trees and ground cover plants.

WWF-Australia spokeswoman Katherine Howard said the story of the woylie was an inspiration ” a rare example of a species brought back from the brink of extinction.

But it has been placed back on the critically endangered list after their numbers crashed by 90 per cent in recent years.

‘We believe introduced predators, habitat loss and disease have all contributed, but we still don’t know exactly what has caused this latest population crash,’ she said.

Woylies are now found in just three isolated locations in the South West.

Ms Butcher said Kanyana was doing everything it could to help reverse the decline of the woylies. ‘Our woylies are the last representatives of a unique gene pool, so a successful breeding program is vital if we are to sustain this irreplaceable population,’ she said.