Rewilding critically endangered brush-tailed bettongs could help them bounce back

Dozens of the ‘ecosystem engineers’ have been caught in Western Australia and flown to their new habitat

A bettong: these ‘ecosystem engineers’ search for fungi and in the process, turn over the soil, promoting plant growth and nutrient cycling. Picture: Marna Banggara / Dr Raphael Eisenhofer

As in-flight meals go, sweet potato and mushroom might not be everyone’s first choice.

But it was the perfect snack for the 73 critically endangered brush-tailed bettongs as they were flown 2,000kms to a new home on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.