When Isaac Busuttil turned six in December last year, he had one special wish.
It wasn’t the latest toy or video game; the only present he wanted was to help save the Eastern barred bandicoot, a native Australian animal considered to be extinct in the wild.
Isaac, of Derrimut, asked his family, friends and classmates to donate to the Guardian Dog Christmas Appeal and together they raised almost $500 for the project, in which a team of six dogs will be trained to protect bandicoots.
Last Saturday, Isaac was given the opportunity to meet the program’s ambassador, four-month-old Maremma sheep dog Albus, during the launch of the guardian dog trial program at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
As part of this trial, the dogs will act as “bandicoot bodyguards”, shielding them from attacks by feral cats and foxes.
Once thought to be lost forever in Victoria, less than 50 Eastern barred bandicoots were discovered living amidst wrecked cars at a Hamilton tip in the late 1980s.
Since then, Melbourne Zoo has bred another 650, with many released into fenced areas, including at the Mount Rothwell Conservation and Research Centre, near Little River.
The state government will contribute $100,000 to the trial.
Environment Minister Lisa Neville said the first guardian dog trial would take place at Tiverton Station in western Victoria.
“With this guardian dog trial we have the rare opportunity to begin to bring an animal back from extinction,” she said.
“This trial could herald a new approach to conservation for many of our threatened species.”
