Central rock rat

Habitat degradation is an obstacle to Central rock rat conservation. Fires limit the available habitat, and the spread of Buffalo grass kills off native grasses that central the rock rat feeds on and helps contribute to the spread of fire. They face predators such as dingos, and grazing from feral herbivores hurts their food supply.[1] Despite all this, the species is believed to be making strides, which is supported by the sightings near the Haasts Bluff Aboriginal land trust west of Alice Springs, in Australia. The rat's predators can also give insight on how the species is recovering. The excrement of feral cats near the location site often includes the fur and bone skeletons of the central rock rat.[16] Until the 1996 capture, the central rock-rat had not been seen since 1960. Between 1970 and 1995, there were no recorded sightings of the species and it was declared that this species was indeed extinct. It wasn't until it was rediscovered in 1996 in the MacDonnell Ranges that this was proven false.[17] On September 3, 1996, members of the Conservation Volunteers Australia trapped an animal which was later identified from photographs as the central rock-rat. Since that time sub-populations have been found at 15 other sites over a small area of the West MacDonnell Ranges. The full range of the current distribution of the species is unknown.[7]

The Central rock rat has a national recovery plan through the Australian government, its overall objective being to stabilize the species and prevent population decreases. Specific objectives include: clarifying distribution, population size, and habitat; to create and employ management strategies of the sub-populations; maintaining captive populations; investigating the biology of captive individuals; and to increase awareness in the community. Recovery actions include establishing the sizes of sub-populations and monitoring changes in them, creating a fire strategy for known population locations, and capturing animals to add to the captive breeding program. The recovery plan also has a provision for habitat protection which would help other native species such as the common brushtail possum and the black-flanked rock-wallaby.[7] Beginning in 1996, after the re-discovery of the central rock-rat, a captive breeding program was set up at Alice Springs Desert Park and at the Perth Zoo. After initially introducing 14 individuals from the wild, the first generation bred successfully but the subsequent one had significant trouble, eventually leading to the death of the last male in 2011.[18] The National Recovery Plan for the Central Rock-rat in 2017 suggested to attempt another breeding program during a natural irruption phase of the wild population, for example after the heavy rainfall in the winter of 2016, so as to limit the effects on the wild numbers of the species.[19] A limited number of Central rock rats from Alice Springs Desert Park have been used for haematology study to promote easy health assessment tools for Central rock rats.[20]