The critically endangered Smoky mouse has been successfully reintroduced into the Nungatta Feral Predator-Free Area within South East Forest National Park. This marks a significant milestone for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and its partners, who aim to restore the park’s ecosystem and reinvigorate its biodiversity.
PHOTO: Smoky mouse (Pseudomys fumeus) released into enclosure, Nungatta Feral Predator-Free Area, South East Forest National Park CREDIT: (DCCEEW)
“NSW NPWS is establishing a network of 10 federal creditor free areas that will cover a combined area over 65,000 hectares that will be free of cats and foxes and other feral predators,” stated Katie Oxenham, Project Officer Ecologist for NSW NPWS.
Almost 50 Smoky mice have been released with plans to introduce up to 120 annually. “We’ve released smoky mice from two different captive breeding facilities. What we’re finding through monitoring we undertake since the release is that they’re mixing with each other, and some are dispersing over quite long distances,” Ms Oxenham explained.
PHOTO: There are plans to release up to 120 more annually CREDIT: NSW NPWS
The project, a collaboration between NPWS, the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program, the National Threatened Species Institute, and the University of Canberra, also anticipates the return of other locally extinct species like the Long-footed potoroo and Eastern quoll.
David Kelly, Manager Threatened Species NSW NPWS, noted, “The return of the smoky mouse is the first step in a major ecosystem restoration project.”
PHOTO: Once all sites are established, almost 65,000 hectares of national park estate will be free of feral predators CREDIT: NSW NPWS
While the smoky mouse has re-established in Nungatta, a population still resides in Kosciuszko National Park. The effort is part of a broader strategy targeting zero extinctions in NSW national parks. The feral predator-free areas aim to alleviate pressures from cats and foxes that have caused significant declines in species like the Smoky mouse.