Chuditch (western quoll) and bilbies bred at Dubbo’s Taronga Western Plains Zoo (TWPZ) are thriving in the wild in north-west NSW, according to recent data from the Wild Deserts Partnership Project.

Managed by UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Ecosystem Science in collaboration with Taronga Conservation Society Australia, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Ecological Horizons, Wild Deserts has released 72 chuditch and 305 bilbies 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 Dubbo’s TWPZ.

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,” Vincent 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. These species have such strong Cultural and ecological importance,” Mr Clark said.

The Taronga Sanctuary was established with the generous support of philanthropists Alan and Lynne Rydge and is home to several conservation breeding programs including the greater bilby and chuditch, the latter established in 2022 with philanthropic support from The Kinghorn Foundation.