The Taronga Conservation Society has acquired over 3,000 hectares of cleared farmland and remnant vegetation in the Nandewar Range near Bingara to be transformed into a safe haven for endangered native animals including koalas, platypus, spotted quolls and regent honeyeater birds bred at Taronga Zoo.
Considered to be a first for zoos internationally, Taronga will plant up to 1 million seedlings within the acquired land in an effort to restore natural wildlife corridors and re-establish critically endangered Box-Gum Woodlands, which have been decimated by land clearing.
Taronga Conservation Society CEO Cameron Kerr says they’ll establish the habitat first to ensure the ecosystem looks after itself before introducing the local native animals that would be suitable for the new area.
News website MSN reports the new site was carefully selected because it is forecast to experience relatively low changes in rainfall and temperatures in coming years, making it more climate-change resilient.
