Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Reintroduction Ecology Of Mala (Lagorchestes Hirsutus) And Merrnine (Lagostrophus Fasciatus) At Shark Bay, Western Australia, Blair Hardman

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The transfer of threatened animals from one location to another in order to benefit the species is a technique frequently used by animal conservation managers. However, very few of these relocations have experimentally assessed the relative merits and disadvantages of commonly used release techniques. Two species of hare-wallaby, mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) and merrnine (Lagostrophus fasciatus), were reintroduced in August 2001 onto Peron Peninsula in Western Australia. These threatened species were reintroduced using two release strategies (soft versus hard release), and their subsequent movements and body condition were monitored using radio-telemetry and trapping.