shooting, for its fur and because it was considered a pest. Current threats to the species include predation by introduced species such as feral cats, red foxes, and dingoes. Other threats include wildfires, prolonged drought, habitat destruction by the pastoral industry and competition for food from grazers, such as rabbits and domestic sheep. Since its rediscovery, the bridled nail-tail wallaby has been the target of private conservation efforts to re-establish viable populations. Captive breeding programs established three populations in Queensland: two in State reserves located at Idalia and Taunton National Parks, and another on a private reserve, Project Kial, located near Marlborough in Central Queensland. After the last captive-breeding facility in Queensland failed, the remaining animals were transferred to Avocet Nature Refuge (south of Emerald), with the total population there and at Taunton estimated at around 600. As of 2019, the species was confined three populations: Taunton and Avocet in Queensland, and Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Scotia Sanctuary in New South Wales, where there were more than 1,000 wallabies in 2018. In August 2019, 41 Bridled Nailtail Wallabies were scouted from Taunton and Scotia for reintroduction to a feral predator-free breeding area within the Pilliga State Conservation Area in northwestern NSW. The translocation was conducted by Australian Wildlife Conservancy in partnership with NSW National Parks and Services, as part of the NSW Government's Saving our Species program. A new strategy known as head-starting has been trialled at Avocet, with a successful outcome reported in May 2021: the population had grown by more than 100% over three years. A area had been fenced off three years earlier, with the youngest wallabies placed in it and allowed to grow in an area safe from feral cats, after studies had shown that it was overwhelmingly this group that was most vulnerable to predation. Although this method had been tested on reptiles and birds before, this was its first trial with land-based mammals. At Taunton Conservation Park, a total of 65 of the wallabies were recorded in 2008, but by early 2021, the population had risen to an estimated 1,300. Footnotes Further reading External links Species Profile and Threats Database: Onychogalea fraenata — Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Trust Project Kial, A Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Recovery Project, Australian Animals Care & Education Inc. (AACE) Endangered fauna of Australia Macropods Mammals of Queensland Marsupials of Australia