2018 was a big year. After two years of trials and research, it was time to officially reintroduce Western Quolls to the Arid Recovery Reserve. In May, it happened. 12 quolls made the journey back to the outback, eight females and four males.

What if I told you there was an animal like no other? An animal the size of your hand that pronks like a gazelle, has a tail that’s half antenna/half paintbrush, smells like a mop and has a wet button nose the colour of a rose?

Don’t worry, it’s not extinct, but a new study by the WA Museum says that the Western Barred Bandicoot isn’t who we thought it was. This new study looked at the morphometrics and genetics of museum specimens and concluded that what has been known as the “Western Barred Bandicoot” is in fact five different species.

Arid Recovery’s ambitious goal is to see vulnerable native animals restored to Australia’s vast open landscapes, out of fences and roaming freely. To make any headway in this ambition it is essential to try new things, but this of course comes with risks.

This study not only looked at the number of Burrowing Bettongs to leave the Arid Recovery Reserve but also the number of bettongs investigating the gates, the influence of gate placement, how to optimise gate use via a food lure, the sex ratio of departing bettongs and also the distance travelled by a bettong to access the gate.