TOGETHER WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO MUCH! Thanks to YOUR support during Aussie Arks three previous crowdfunding campaigns, we have delivered wonderful outcomes for the endangered Eastern quoll, Tasmanian devil and Manning River turtle! We have now bred over 390 Tasmanian devil joeys, and now successfully provide refuge for more than 150 Eastern quolls. We released our first quolls home to Booderee National Park in May 2019. 2020 saw the first collection of critically endangered Manning River turtles, and their eggs to ensure their survival into the future and returned the Tasmanian devil to Mainland Australia for the first time in 3,000 years! These are huge outcomes for native wildlife conservation and quite simply we could not have done it without you. Thank you.

There are more species that need our help.

Australias wildlife is in a state of emergency. We have one of the WORST extinction rates of any country in the world. Home to more than one million species of plants and animals, Australias wildlife is uniquely ours, found nowhere else in the world. Australias native plants and animals adapted to life on an isolated continent over millions of years. New pressures from invasive species have caused a major impact on our countrys soil, waterways and on its native plants and animals. 2019 saw long-term environmental issues culminate into unimaginable conditions. Severe drought, catastrophic wildfires and unprecedented heat waves have triggered the loss of entire ecological communities, and possibly entire species.

Aussie Ark is committed to native wildlife conservation and being a part of the solution for our wildlife. Now more than ever, we as a community need to act and work together to save what is left of our fauna. Today we commit to saving the the Broad-toothed Rat.

DONT LET THE NAME FOOL YOU Broad-toothed Rats are critical to our native environment, and they are disappearing RAPIDLY.

THE PROBLEM

In Australia we have a remarkable landscape, populated with, and characterised by plants and animals unlike those anywhere else on the planet. It is this uniqueness that separates us from the rest of the world and this uniqueness that we stand to lose if something does not change.

The Broad-toothed Rat is unique in nature and behaviour. They make and use runways through the dense wet grasses and tussocks they inhabit, which protect them from predators. They nest and shelter under log sand undergrowth, huddling in these nests to stay warm in winter. Their diet is comprised of almost all greenery and so their bright green faeces are very distinguishable.

The species numbers have decreased drastically due to the compounding threats they face. Introduced predators, such as foxes and cats, prey upon them. Horses, cattle and pigs degrade their habitat and outcompete them for food. Weeds such as Scotch Broom take over their environment decreasing food plants and shelter. Rats bring with them the connotation of dirty and diseased and lack the attention of the world in comparison to pandas, elephants, or tigers.

The 2019-2020 bushfires destroyed no less than 1/3 of their total remaining habitat. They now have less to call home and their future is at risk. The impact these fires have had is shown to be far worse than first anticipated. Many species that were already vulnerable are now facing extinction. The loss of the Broad-toothed Rat will be detrimental to other species as well as the ecosystem it lives in. It is known that we are able to bounce back from natural disasters, however for our vulnerable Australian native species their future cannot be restored without help.

The Broad-toothed Rat belongs in the Barrington Tops. Sadly, it is on a trajectory to extinction if action is not taken in the short term. This population of Broad-toothed rats is found in the Barrington Tops and nowhere else on Earth, meaning once its gone it is never coming back.

CHALLENGES

Our main challenges are time and money. Conservation is expensive! Establishing facilities for endangered species takes time, effort and funds.

The speed of its disappearance from the Barrington Tops Region in NSW during the catastrophic bushfires and prolonged drought is unfathomable. At the current rate of decline, and if intervention is not undertaken immediately, the acquisition of genetics becomes increasingly challenging and may jeopardise the long-term survival of the species. Each day and week more animals are dying. We need to ensure their survival before its not too late!

The race is on to save these unique and threatened native rodents, and we can do it with your help!

THE SOLUTION

The Australian Reptile Park and Aussie Ark have once again joined forces to save this species.Little is known about the Broad-toothed rat, other than the certainty surrounding its disappearance. Its extinction is largely being monitored with little action being taken to prevent its disappearance. Broad-toothed rat numbers would be in the low thousands, if not hundreds. Although correct population numbers do not exist

It is time to act. Aussie Ark is building a captive breeding nucleus for the species, constructing intensive breeding facilities, modification of sites for release to sanctuary, wild population supplement and research. Aussie Ark will be the pioneers for learning about this important species including behavioural traits that are unknown. This information can be used to save the species in the wild.

HOW THE FUNDS WILL BE USED

100% of the funds raised will be spent on the construction of a world class and world first Broad-toothed Rat breeding facility.

Capital development costs include the following:

The facility:

Concrete, site works, utilities - rainwater tanks

Security, surveillance - installation of camera surveillance system including alarms as well as monitoring equipment

Framework: external structure for entirely enclosed and secure facilities

Plumbing: sinks, hoses, capturing

Tools and equipment, storage, quarantine

TOTAL = $98,000

Extinction is not an option!