Imagine traveling back in time to see the red-gum and yellow-gum grassy woodlands of Australia before European settlement. Before invasive predatory species like cats and foxes decimated the native wildlife. Before rabbits were an invasive pest. I didn’t need a TARDIS and the Doctor to time travel. All I had to do was drive 30 minutes north to the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary.
The sanctuary can return to an earlier time, thanks to an electrified, predator-proof fence. In 2004, the Australian Capital Territory established the sanctuary, removed the invasive predators and herbivores, and enclosed the land within the predator-proof fence. Native plant and animal species were reintroduced to create a living ecosystem, not a zoo.
Other large, fenced animal sanctuaries exist in Australia, but they tend to be in remote areas. Mulligans Flat is unique because it’s so close to Canberra’s urban environment. The nearly 1200 acres of sanctuary have become an ecotourism destination where visitors can see rare Australian animals.
Some of the animals reintroduced to the sanctuary have not lived in mainland Australia for more than 100 years, including the eastern bettong, the bush stone-curlew, and the eastern quoll.
The sanctuary can return to an earlier time, thanks to an electrified, predator-proof fence. In 2004, the Australian Capital Territory established the sanctuary, removed the invasive predators and herbivores, and enclosed the land within the predator-proof fence. Native plant and animal species were reintroduced to create a living ecosystem, not a zoo.
Other large, fenced animal sanctuaries exist in Australia, but they tend to be in remote areas. Mulligans Flat is unique because it’s so close to Canberra’s urban environment. The nearly 1200 acres of sanctuary have become an ecotourism destination where visitors can see rare Australian animals.
Some of the animals reintroduced to the sanctuary have not lived in mainland Australia for more than 100 years, including the eastern bettong, the bush stone-curlew, and the eastern quoll.
The bettongs and quolls had been hunted to extinction but were successfully reintroduced from Tasmania. With luck, once the populations have rebounded, some of these native species will eventually be released outside of the sanctuary.
I wasn’t lucky enough to see any of the rare nocturnal animals the day I visited, but I did spot two echidnas (my first sighting of echidnas in the wild), the omnipresent eastern grey kangaroo, and numerous wallabies.
I wasn’t lucky enough to see any of the rare nocturnal animals the day I visited, but I did spot two echidnas (my first sighting of echidnas in the wild), the omnipresent eastern grey kangaroo, and numerous wallabies.
Next time, I’ll have to go back for one of the popular twilight tours.
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