Aussie Ark

Aussie Ark, formerly Devil Ark, is an animal preservation project based near the Barrington Tops of New South Wales, Australia. The wildlife sanctuary is called the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary.

Aussie Ark
Date opened2011
LocationTomalla,
New South Wales, Australia
No. of species100+
Major exhibitsTasmanian devil
Websitewww.aussieark.org.au

History

The project was initially called Devil Ark, when its original goal was to only breed and preserve Tasmanian devils from an aggressive, non-viral transmissible and fatal disease known as devil facial tumour disease.[1] The Devil Ark concept was discussed among zoos in 2006 and formally presented at the Tasmanian devil workshop held in Hobart in 2008, where most stakeholders, researchers and wildlife agencies were represented. The first founding Tasmanian devils were released at Devil Ark in January 2011 and Devil Ark was incorporated as a separate entity in November 2011.[2]

Description

The park is known as Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary.[3] The project is registered as a charity and is fully dependent on voluntary donations.

Tasmanian devils

A group of healthy Tasmanian devil individuals were raised in captivity at the Ark to produce offspring. The project aimed to create a set of one thousand genetically representative devils and is now a major focus of the insurance policy. Previously, Tasmanian devils held in zoos would rarely produce offspring in captivity. Aussie Ark is located on 1,350 m (4,430 ft) altitude in similar weather conditions as found in Tasmania at 500 hectares breeding facility at Ellerston station, just north of Barrington Tops in New South Wales;[1] an initiative of the Australian Reptile Park. In 2013 it was announced that Devil Ark would open for tours on the first Saturday of every month.[4] 2016 saw the 200th Tasmanian devil born through the project.

Other species

Due to it success, the project expanded to include other species such as koalas, the Manning River turtle, eastern quolls and the brush-tailed rock wallaby, as well as creating more wildlife sanctuaries.[5] In 2020, Aussie Ark helped reintroduce Tasmanian devils back to the Australian mainland, in the Barrington Tops of New South Wales.[6]

Its breeding program of the eastern quoll reported a record number of joeys born in spring (November) 2022.[3]

In the media

The Ark and its animals have been featured on the wildlife television series Bondi Vet and its spin-off Outback Adventures with Tim Faulkner.

References
  1. "Devil Ark: saving Tasmanian devils". Australian Geographic. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. "How Devil Ark come into being". Devil Ark. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. Siossian, Emma (10 November 2022). "Record numbers of eastern quoll joeys born at Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary". ABC News. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. "Barrington Tops Devil Ark preparing to open to the public as an exclusive wildlife attraction". The Daily Telegraph. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  5. "PROJECTS". Aussie Ark. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. "Tasmanian devils return to mainland Australia for first time in 3,000 years". Animals. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.

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