Managed by UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Ecosystem Science in collaboration with Taronga Conservation Society Australia (Taronga), NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Ecological Horizons, Wild Deserts has seen 72 Chuditch (also known as Western Quoll) and 305 Bilbies released into the Wild Training Zone (WTZ), a 100km2 area within Sturt National Park where feral predators have not been eradicated but instead are carefully managed.

New population monitoring in the WTZ has confirmed breeding and survivorship of over 12 months for Chuditch bred in the Taronga Sanctuary, a 110-hectare feral predator-proof area behind the scenes at Taronga Western Plains Zoo on Wiradjuri Country near Dubbo.

Over four days in late 2025, teams captured 57 individuals including six new animals which confirmed breeding in the WTZ. Taronga Indigenous Trainee Keeper Vincent Hamilton was part of the team that discovered a new juvenile Chuditch born in the WTZ that had never been captured before.

“He was actually in our very last trap and we thought it was a Golden Bandicoot at the time, and then opened the trap and here comes this beautiful, very young boy who hasn't been caught or seen before,” Mr Hamilton said.

“We measured and weighed him, took samples of his skin and photographed his spot patterns for researchers, and then I actually got to release him.

“Sending this young juvenile quoll on its way, knowing that it’s a new quoll and it’s going to start a new life, I actually was pretty emotional. Everyone was very happy that day.”

Taronga Community Support Officer, Trainee Keeper and Kamilaroi Barkindji man Jarred Clark worked alongside conservation keepers to prepare zoo-bred Bilbies for release to the wild and also travelled to Sturt National Park to assist with the population monitoring.

“I’m just so ecstatic to be able to work on these projects where we’re reintroducing species back onto Country where they haven’t been around for over 100 years,” Mr Clark said.

“These species have such strong cultural and ecological importance – to be able to work hands-on with them and see them thriving is something that I’m really proud to be a part of.”

The Taronga Sanctuary was established thanks to the generous support of philanthropists Alan and Lynne Rydge. The sanctuary is home to a number of Taronga’s conservation breeding programs, including the Greater Bilby, with a free-ranging breeding population established in 2019. Taronga’s Chuditch conservation breeding program was established in 2022, thanks to a generous philanthropic donation from The Kinghorn Foundation.

Both Chuditch and Bilby populations have been reduced to 5-10% of their former ranges since European settlement, exacerbated by habitat loss, which has fragmented populations, together with competition with introduced species such as rabbits and predation from feral cats and foxes. In 2020, 10 Taronga-bred Bilbies were released into Sturt National Park. This was followed by the first 16 Taronga-bred Chuditch in 2024, marking the species’ return in NSW since the last recorded sighting in 1841.

Since then, another 52 Chuditch and 20 Bilbies have been released to the WTZ, including the final 21 Taronga-bred Chuditch in November.

“To me, it’s the highlight of the whole program,” said Senior Chuditch Keeper Nick Atchison.

“The animals that we have here, we’re really only ever the custodians of them. They’re not our animals, they come in from the wild, they breed here, then we hold onto them with this purpose of releasing them back to the wild.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to see them head off and hopefully make their way in the wild.”

Taronga Wildlife Conservation Officer Rachael Schildkraut said a key objective of Taronga’s breed-for-release programs to deliver broad conservation benefits, and healthy, genetically robust animals with behavioural skills to survive post-release.

“To see some of the original Taronga-bred Chuditch now producing wild-born young of their own in Sturt National Park, that’s the ultimate goal of our program,” she said.

“It’s a real highlight to see them thriving, and also to work together with Taronga’s Cultural team and First Nations stakeholders to achieve these significant conservation milestones.”

Mr Clark said the week at Sturt National Park was an amazing opportunity.

“As a proud young Indigenous man, it means a lot to be a part of this project,” Clark said.

“It feels like I’m contributing to something that’s bigger than myself.

“Caring for Country isn’t just a job; it's something that’s deeply rooted in who I am. I hope this shows other young Indigenous people that there’s a role for us in conservation."