Woylies - The Quiet Achievers

For about 2 weeks, our Conservation Biology class worked alongside staff members of the Department of Parks and Wildlife in a conservation project for a small macropod called the Woylie (Bettongia penicillata) . The marking and recapturing method was used to estimate population size of these guys at a site down in Manjimup. Unfortunately, woylies are listed in the IUCN as "critically endangered" and in Western Australia they are heavily predated on by feral cats and foxes. Woylies are 'quiet achievers,' not even locals know what they are sometimes, but they do so much in maintaining nutrient rich soil and in helping plants grow.