In a bold experiment in the Australian outback, scientists are training small native marsupials to survive alongside feral cats, which have driven many species to the brink of extinction. The project, called Wild Deserts, is centred on a 100 sq km 'training zone' inside Sturt National Park in north-west New South Wales, where cat numbers are kept low through shooting and targeted toxin devices.
Professor Richard Kingsford, director of the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science and project leader, says the experiment is showing promise. 'So far, we’re getting success with animals breeding in there. Numbers are building up,' he said. Since 2024, 51 western quolls, 305 bilbies and 234 golden bandicoots have been released into the zone, with burrowing bettongs to follow.
Dr Bec West, principal ecologist at Wild Deserts, reports that recent monitoring caught 57 quolls, bilbies and bandicoots that had survived for months or over a year. 'In the last few months, we have been seeing more bilbies and quolls than cats. That is such a win. They are taking back the desert,' she said.
The marsupials may learn to avoid cats through observation or inherited traits. Previous studies show bettongs become more vigilant near cats, while bilbies exposed to cats over generations developed larger feet and fled earlier from humans, suggesting enhanced predator awareness. 'Those larger feet might mean they’re better at escaping,' West noted.
The reintroduced species have spread across the entire training zone and are breeding, with offspring growing up in the cat-present environment. The team hopes these 'predator-smart' animals can eventually be used to repopulate wider areas. The marsupials also act as ecosystem engineers, digging and overturning soil to aid water pooling and seed germination.
