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Nabarlek (Petrogale concinna)

The Nabarlek is a very small rock wallaby found in rocky country in the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its caves, boulder piles and surrounding foraging areas can be affected by clearing, roadworks, fire and introduced predators. The species is listed as Critically Endangered nationally, and Endangered in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, so potential habitat should be treated as high priority during project planning and site works.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Critically endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Endangered.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

Nabarleks can breed throughout the year. Females with pouch young are more commonly recorded during the northern wet season, although timing may vary between the Northern Territory and Western Australia and between years.

Breeding mode: Marsupial breeding. A single joey is typically born, and embryonic diapause may delay development until conditions are favourable.

Breeding frequency: Breeding occurs throughout the year.

Litter size: Typically one joey.

Gestation and diapause: Gestation length and the duration of embryonic diapause are not recorded.

Young and pouch use: The young develops in the mother’s pouch. Females with pouch young are more commonly recorded during the wet season.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Breeding and activity can vary between years and regions, and the species is poorly known in several parts of its range, so treat all occupied rocky habitat as potentially used for breeding and shelter at any time.

  • Breeding, mating and births: Breeding may occur in every month, so clearing can encounter females, pouch young or recently emerged young at any time of year.
  • Pouch young and dependent young: Pouch young are more commonly recorded during the northern wet season, approximately November to April, but dependent young may occur year round.
  • Movement to foraging areas: Nabarleks may move several hundred metres from rocky daytime shelters to nearby plains or floodplain margins to forage, with the available route changing as areas become inundated.
  • Night activity and shelter use: Nabarleks are generally nocturnal during the dry season and may become partly diurnal during the wet season, while caves, crevices and boulder piles remain important daytime shelter.
  • Highest clearing risk: Avoid clearing rocky shelters, caves, crevices and connected foraging habitat wherever possible, with the greatest seasonal risk expected during the wet season when pouch young are more frequently recorded.

Identification: Appearance and size

The Nabarlek is one of Australia’s smallest rock wallabies. Identification can be difficult where it occurs with other small Petrogale species, so photographs and expert confirmation are useful for any suspected record.

Adults weigh about 1.2 to 1.6 kg. The upper coat is dull rufous, marbled with light grey and black. The lower thigh and base of the tail are rufous, and the belly is greyish white.

The face usually has a prominent white stripe along the upper jaw, bordered by a dark stripe from the nose towards the eye. A dark stripe commonly runs from between the eyes over the head and onto the neck. The tail is slightly shorter than the head and body, with a black brush tip.

Body mass: About 1.2 to 1.6 kg

Body form: Small rock wallaby with a relatively short tail and bushy black tip

  • No thigh stripe is present.
  • The tail tip is bushier than in the short-eared rock wallabies.
  • The tail tip generally has more lightly coloured hairs than the Monjon, Petrogale burbidgei.

Identification: Calls and similar species

Calls and vocal behaviour are not well documented for field identification. Do not rely on call recognition alone.

On mainland sites, the Nabarlek can be confused with the Monjon, Petrogale burbidgei, and juvenile Western Short-eared Rock-wallabies, Petrogale brachyotis. It can also resemble the Eastern Short-eared Rock-wallaby, Petrogale wilkinsi.

  • Look for the small size, bushy tail tip and less bold body markings.
  • Use clear photographs of the animal, tail, face and side markings where possible.
  • The common name Nabarlek is used for rock wallabies in several local Aboriginal languages, which can add to confusion between Petrogale species.

Identification: Field signs

Nabarleks shelter in rocky places and may leave feeding signs around nearby vegetation. Their small size and nocturnal habits make direct sightings uncommon.

There is no described nest, hollow, burrow, colony structure or roost structure to search for. Caves, crevices and ledges should instead be treated as potential daytime shelter.

  • Record tracks, pellets, feeding damage, photographs and camera detections.
  • Follow up any possible sighting, especially near rocky refuges and on adjacent floodplain or black-soil areas.
  • Avoid identifying the species from a single indistinct photograph where other Petrogale species occur.

Distribution: Northern Territory

The Nabarlek has a tropical, discontinuous distribution in northern Australia. The three recognised subspecies are geographically separated, although their taxonomic validity still requires further study.

The Top End form, Petrogale concinna canescens, has been recorded from scattered rocky populations between the Arafura Swamp in the east and the Daly River catchment in the west. Records include rugged country in and around western Arnhem Land, Kakadu and Litchfield, although recent records are sparse and populations appear to have declined.

The species has also been reported from areas including Milingimbi Island and Wigram Island. The report of Nabarleks from Groote Eylandt is unconfirmed, with local information indicating that the species may never have been present there.

Top End subspecies: Petrogale concinna canescens

Current concern: May now be restricted mainly to western Arnhem Land escarpment country

  • Potentially suitable areas include the western Arnhem Land escarpment and other rugged sandstone or granite ranges.
  • There have been no recent sightings in Litchfield National Park in the information summarised here.
  • No signs were found during a survey in Kakadu National Park, including at some sites where the species was formerly considered common.

Distribution: Western Australia

The Kimberley form, Petrogale concinna monastria, occurs in the north-west Kimberley, from the Yampi Peninsula north towards Kalumburu. It has been recorded on islands and in rocky areas of the Buccaneer and Bonaparte archipelagos, and in the Prince Regent Nature Reserve and Mitchell River National Park.

Kimberley subspecies: Petrogale concinna monastria

Former occurrence: Sunday Island, extinct by about 1940

  • Important locations include Long Island, Hidden Island and Augustus Island.
  • The species was formerly present on Sunday Island in the Buccaneer Archipelago and was extinct there by about 1940.
  • Some island records remain uncertain and should be checked against current fauna databases and local knowledge.

Distribution: Victoria River District form

Petrogale concinna concinna is known from a single specimen collected about 100 km upstream of the mouth of the Victoria River in 1839. A possible early record near Wyndham cannot be verified.

This form may be extinct, but surveys and follow-up of credible sightings remain appropriate because the conservation consequence of finding a surviving population would be substantial.

Victoria River District subspecies: Petrogale concinna concinna

Known verified record: One specimen collected in 1839

  • Treat old records and local Aboriginal knowledge as useful leads for targeted searches.
  • Report and investigate any potential record rather than dismissing it as a more common rock wallaby.
  • If located, assess abundance, search nearby rocky country and begin threat monitoring.

Habitat: Rocky landforms

Look for the Nabarlek in rugged rocky country with steep slopes and secure refuge. A site can still be relevant when the rocky refuge is separated from nearby feeding areas by several hundred metres.

Preferred landforms include steep sandstone or granite slopes, rugged escarpments, low granite boulder hills, lateritic breakaways, scree slopes and dissected sandstone ranges.

  • Large boulder piles and broken rock.
  • Steep, fissured cliffs and escarpment edges.
  • Lateritic breakaways and rocky outcrops beside wetlands or floodplains.
  • Caves, deep crevices, ledges and other shaded gaps.

Habitat: Vegetation and landscape setting

Recorded settings include spinifex grasslands, monsoon vine thickets, Acacia shrublands, open woodland, monsoon rainforest and areas beside seasonally inundated wetlands.

Map the whole habitat connection, not only the rock face. Rocky refuges may be linked to floodplain margins, black-soil plains and other nearby feeding areas.

  • Rock outcrops at the edge of wetlands.
  • Sandstone escarpments with surrounding woodland or hummock grassland.
  • Boulder fields with intact native ground cover.
  • Rocky refuges connected to adjacent flat country.

Habitat: Site assessment

The most useful site features are steep slopes, numerous caves and complex rock structure. Habitat quality is likely to be higher where refuges remain shaded, connected and relatively free from intense fire and heavy grazing.

Before clearing or construction, inspect mapping, aerial imagery and local records, then walk the rocky margins and adjacent feeding habitat. Consider the potential for animals to move between shelter and forage areas at night.

  • Mark caves, crevices, ledges and boulder piles as avoidance areas.
  • Include adjacent flat or floodplain habitat in the impact assessment.
  • Seek advice from the relevant Northern Territory or Western Australian environment authority for a confirmed record or potential EPBC matter.
  • Use local Aboriginal knowledge where permission has been given and cultural protocols are followed.

Foraging habitat: Foraging areas

Nabarleks can leave rocky refuges to feed in surrounding country. This makes apparently open ground near escarpments or boulder fields relevant during clearing and access works.

During the dry season, individuals may travel several hundred metres from rocky refuges onto surrounding black-soil plains. During the wet season, inundated plains can restrict them to rock outcrops and floodplain margins.

Foraging distance: May be several hundred metres from daytime rocky refuge

  • Floodplain margins near rocky country.
  • Black-soil plains adjoining escarpments or boulder fields.
  • Seasonally inundated wetlands and their rocky edges.
  • Native grassland, sedgeland and fern-rich areas close to shelter.

Foraging habitat: Food plants

The diet includes ferns, sedges, grasses, Cyperus seeds, Terminalia seeds, leaves and small amounts of Triodia and Solanum. The high silica content of the diet is associated with continual replacement of the molar teeth.

  • Sedges and grasses in floodplain or wetland margins.
  • Marsilea and other ferns where present.
  • Native ground cover beneath open woodland and around rocky outcrops.
  • Seed-bearing Cyperus and Terminalia plants.

Foraging habitat: Works planning

Avoid treating open foraging habitat as low value simply because it has no caves or boulders. Retain links between rocky refuges and nearby feeding areas wherever practicable.

Keep machinery, night lighting, stockpiles and vehicle movements away from mapped refuge and foraging connections. Stop and reassess if a Nabarlek is seen during clearing or night works.

  • Stage clearing away from rocky habitat where possible.
  • Prevent unnecessary removal of native ground cover near refuges.
  • Control access by livestock and feral herbivores where grazing is degrading food plants.
  • Record the location and direction of movement for every sighting.

Breeding habitat: Breeding information

Breeding details are poorly known in the wild, particularly for the Victoria River District form. Nabarleks are marsupials, and females carry young in a pouch, but no separate nest, maternity roost or breeding colony needs to be searched for.

The Top End form probably breeds throughout the year, and females with pouch young are more common in the wet season. A single joey is typically reported, and females can use embryonic diapause, allowing development to pause until conditions improve.

Breeding pattern: Probably year-round in the Top End form

Young: Typically one joey

Generation length: Estimated at 5 years

  • Handle any captured female and pouch young only under approved fauna handling procedures.
  • Do not separate a joey from its mother during a rescue or relocation response.
  • Record the presence of pouch young and immediately seek advice from the fauna spotter catcher supervisor or wildlife authority.

Breeding habitat: Breeding places on works sites

No specific breeding place type has been established. Caves, crevices, boulder piles and ledges should nevertheless be protected because they are likely to provide secure shelter for adults and young.

Do not enter, fill, blast, seal or remove potential refuge features without first assessing their fauna value and obtaining any required approvals.

  • Keep rock refuges intact during design and construction.
  • Inspect proposed disturbance near caves and boulder piles before works begin.
  • Treat a female with a pouch young as a high priority animal during handling.

Breeding habitat: Practical clearance response

Because the species is nationally Critically Endangered, a suspected animal or occupied refuge requires a conservative response. Pause work in the immediate area, keep people and machinery back, and obtain advice from the relevant wildlife authority or experienced rock-wallaby ecologist.

  • Photograph the animal or sign without chasing it.
  • Record the date, location, habitat and activity.
  • Use an approved capture, handling and release procedure if intervention is authorised.
  • Do not relocate an animal casually or release it into unassessed habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Refuge features

Daytime refuge is provided by complex rocky habitat. These features can be difficult to inspect safely, so ecological checks should be planned with appropriate access controls and fauna handling expertise.

Nabarleks shelter during the day in rock crevices, boulder piles and caves. Surveys and pre-clearance inspections should focus on shaded, protected spaces within steep slopes, cliffs and breakaways.

  • Deep crevices and fissures.
  • Caves and overhangs.
  • Spaces beneath rock ledges.
  • Dense boulder piles with multiple escape routes.
  • Shaded gaps on escarpment faces.

Sheltering habitat: Activity pattern

The species is shy and mainly nocturnal during the dry season. It becomes partly diurnal in the wet season. Animals may emerge at night and travel from rocky shelter to nearby flat country to forage.

  • Avoid night works, bright lighting and repeated vehicle movements beside occupied rocky habitat.
  • Plan inspections and observations to minimise disturbance at refuge entrances.
  • Use motion-sensitive cameras or other suitable methods where direct observation is unlikely to detect the species.

Sheltering habitat: Protection during works

Retain rock structure and avoid vibration, blasting, rock removal and material storage beside caves, crevices and boulder piles. Maintain access between shelter features and surrounding foraging habitat.

Where a project may affect potential refuge, obtain a site-specific ecological assessment before finalising the work method. Nationally and jurisdictionally threatened status warrants a precautionary approach.

  • Fence or clearly mark no-go areas around retained rocky habitat.
  • Prevent spoil, sediment, concrete washout and rubbish from entering crevices or caves.
  • Do not seal openings or alter drainage around refuge areas without assessment.
  • Use a spotter catcher familiar with small rock wallabies for fauna risk management.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main risks on works sites are loss of rocky refuge, loss of connected feeding habitat and disturbance that increases exposure to predators. Fire, grazing and feral predators also need to be managed around occupied or potentially occupied habitat.

Removal of escarpments, boulders, caves, crevices or lateritic breakaways can directly remove shelter. Clearing adjacent floodplain, black-soil or native grassland can reduce access to food and sever movement routes.

  • Avoid rocky refuge features in the project footprint.
  • Retain a connected buffer of surrounding native vegetation where practicable.
  • Keep access tracks, laydown areas and stockpiles out of rocky and adjoining foraging habitat.
  • Reassess the design if new caves, boulder piles or fresh signs are found.

Threats: Fire and invasive grasses

Increases in fire frequency, extent and intensity are likely threats. Invasive grasses can reduce habitat quality and increase fuel loads, leading to more extensive or intense fires.

  • Maintain fire regimes that avoid frequent, extensive high-intensity burns.
  • Protect rocky refuges and nearby food plants from hot fires where feasible.
  • Control invasive grasses before they increase fuel continuity.
  • Coordinate fire planning with land managers and Traditional Owners.

Threats: Feral predators and grazing

Feral Cats are a likely threat, especially when Nabarleks move away from rocky refuges to forage. Livestock and feral herbivores can compete for food plants and alter vegetation composition. Introduced dogs and foxes are also recognised predator risks in the broader conservation context.

  • Do not create easy predator access or cover through poorly managed waste and construction materials.
  • Limit grazing pressure around occupied habitat.
  • Use approved, coordinated feral predator control rather than ad hoc control around a single work site.
  • Maintain dense native cover and connected rocky refuge where possible.

Threats: Response to records

Any credible record should be treated seriously because populations are poorly known and have declined in parts of the Northern Territory. For this nationally Critically Endangered species, stop or isolate potentially damaging work until the record, habitat and required approvals have been assessed.

National status: Critically Endangered

Northern Territory status: Endangered

Western Australia status: Endangered

  • Notify the project ecologist and fauna spotter catcher supervisor.
  • Record photographs, coordinates, habitat, behaviour and direction of travel.
  • Report confirmed or suspected records to the relevant state or territory environment authority.
  • Establish monitoring and threat controls if an occupied locality is confirmed.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

The Nabarlek is small, nocturnal and difficult to distinguish from other rock wallabies. Surveys should focus on rugged rocky habitat, caves, crevices, boulder piles and nearby areas used for night foraging.

Check current records, habitat mapping, aerial imagery and local knowledge before planning works. Treat records of small rock wallabies as potential Nabarlek records until a competent ecologist confirms the identification.

Map rocky outcrops, steep slopes, large boulders, caves, crevices, ledges, floodplain margins and adjacent foraging areas. Include habitat several hundred metres from refuges where access and project impacts could affect night foraging.

  • Check whether the project may affect a Commonwealth or state listed population or subspecies.
  • Confirm whether the location is in the Northern Territory, Kimberley region of Western Australia, or another area requiring further advice.
  • Seek local Aboriginal ecological knowledge through appropriate local contacts and permissions.

Survey methodology: 2. Field detection

Survey rocky refuges and adjacent foraging areas at night, when Nabarleks are most likely to be active during the dry season. Include suitable rocky areas during the wet season, when activity may extend into daylight.

Use motion sensitive camera traps at cave entrances, rock ledges, boulder piles, runways and likely movement routes. A three week deployment has been used in project surveys, but effort should be increased where habitat is extensive, records are old or detection probability is low.

Use quiet spotlight searches along rocky edges and adjacent flats. Avoid entering caves or crevices unless this can be done safely and without disturbing animals.

  • Use experienced observers familiar with Nabarleks, Eastern Short eared Rock wallabies, Western Short eared Rock wallabies and juvenile Short eared Rock wallabies.
  • Use cameras and repeat observations because a single survey can miss a shy, low density animal.
  • Do not rely on daytime searches alone.
  • Coordinate survey timing with site access, weather, fire conditions and seasonal safety requirements.

Survey methodology: 3. Identification and verification

Record photographs, video, diagnostic markings, body size, tail shape, habitat and behaviour for every possible sighting. The Nabarlek has a bushy black tipped tail, a small body, relatively long ears and subdued side markings.

Have images and records checked by a suitably experienced mammal ecologist. Field identification can be difficult where other small rock wallabies occur.

Treat an unconfirmed record as a possible Nabarlek until it has been resolved.

  • Record the exact location, date, time, observer, weather, survey method and duration.
  • Map the animal, camera station, refuge, tracks, scats and feeding signs.
  • Record whether the animal was in rocky shelter, travelling, or foraging on adjacent flats.
  • Document nearby caves, crevices, boulder piles, ledges, fire impacts, weeds, livestock access and feral animal signs.

Survey methodology: 4. Survey limitations and escalation

There is no single established survey method or effort standard for this poorly known species. Use a combination of cameras, spotlighting, habitat inspection and local knowledge, then adjust effort to the risk and size of the site.

Escalate the assessment if suitable rocky habitat is present, if a possible animal is detected, or if works may remove or isolate a refuge.

  • Pause final impact decisions until a competent ecologist reviews possible records.
  • Seek advice from the relevant Commonwealth, Northern Territory or Western Australian authority where a listed population may be affected.
  • Use additional targeted surveys where detection confidence is low or the site contains important, connected rocky habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoidance and approvals

Avoid rocky refuges and connected foraging habitat wherever practicable. The Nabarlek can breed throughout the year, so do not assume that a site is clear of dependent young outside a particular season.

Redesign the work area to retain caves, crevices, boulder piles, rock ledges, steep rocky slopes and adjacent native vegetation. Retain links between rocky refuges and nearby feeding areas.

Obtain all approvals before clearing or construction. A Commonwealth referral may be required for impacts to an EPBC listed Nabarlek population or its habitat. Confirm Northern Territory or Western Australian requirements for the relevant population or subspecies.

For Queensland projects, obtain advice about protected wildlife and whether a species management program is required where works may affect a breeding place. Obtain state permits, wildlife permits and relocation approvals required by the relevant jurisdiction.

  • Confirm the listing that applies at the site. The species is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act, and as Endangered in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
  • Use the recognised subspecies and location in project documentation where that distinction is relevant.
  • Do not rely on a general fauna permit to authorise harm to a listed species or its habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Site controls and exclusion

Mark no go areas around all known or potential rocky refuges before machinery arrives. The available conservation advice does not set a universal Nabarlek buffer, so have an ecologist define a site specific exclusion area that protects the refuge, rock stability, vegetation and access routes.

Keep stockpiles, laydown areas, vehicle routes, blasting, vibration, drainage changes and lighting away from caves, crevices, boulder piles and feeding habitat.

Fence or clearly flag exclusion areas and inspect them daily during works.

  • Use a larger exclusion area where blasting, heavy vibration, rock removal, night lighting or fire could affect a refuge.
  • Prevent workers and machinery from entering caves, crevices and boulder piles.
  • Keep domestic dogs and unnecessary personnel away from the work area.
  • Do not disturb, fill, seal or illuminate a cave or crevice without specialist advice and approval.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre clearance survey

Complete a targeted pre clearance survey shortly before disturbance. Inspect all rocky habitat and nearby vegetation, then check camera images and spotlight records.

A fauna ecologist or authorised fauna spotter catcher should lead the inspection. Nabarleks may shelter in caves, under ledges, in crevices and among boulders, and dependent young may be associated with the mother.

  • Search slowly and quietly around rock edges, caves, ledges and boulder piles.
  • Check adjacent flats and floodplain margins for animals that may be foraging away from shelter.
  • Do not enter confined spaces or move rocks unless the method has been assessed as safe and authorised.
  • Record all animals, signs, potential refuges, injured wildlife and areas requiring exclusion.

Before habitat disturbance: 4. Induction and work planning

Brief every worker before work starts. Explain the animal's appearance, likely refuges, night activity, reporting process and stop work authority.

Schedule high risk activities to avoid periods of animal activity where practicable. There is no defined migration period, and breeding may occur throughout the year, so timing alone does not remove the risk.

  • Show workers photographs of the Nabarlek and similar rock wallabies.
  • Nominate the fauna spotter catcher and provide their contact details to supervisors.
  • Explain that only authorised people may handle wildlife.
  • Confirm the location of exclusion zones, access routes, emergency contacts and the injured animal pathway.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Sequential clearing

Use a slow, staged approach and keep natural refuges intact. The fauna spotter catcher must be able to stop work immediately when an animal, possible breeding place or unsafe situation is found.

Clear in small, defined stages from the disturbed area towards retained habitat, while leaving escape routes to suitable natural rocky shelter. Keep machinery out of caves, crevices, ledges and boulder piles.

Remove vegetation and loose material carefully before any rock breaking, excavation, blasting or grading. Use hand methods around potential refuges where practicable.

  • Complete the pre clearance check for each stage before machinery enters.
  • Keep the fauna spotter catcher in a position to see the work face and direct machinery.
  • Stop work if visibility is lost, an animal moves into the work area, or a refuge may be affected.
  • Do not chase animals into exposed areas or block their access to shelter.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Animal handling and breeding places

Only an authorised and appropriately trained person may capture, handle, contain or relocate a Nabarlek. Minimise handling time, noise, heat and exposure.

If an active breeding place, dependent young, occupied cave, colony or important refuge is found, stop work and establish an exclusion area. Obtain advice from the relevant wildlife authority and project ecologist before restarting.

  • Do not remove a mother from a pouch young or separate an animal from dependent young.
  • Do not seal, fill, collapse or relocate an occupied cave, crevice or boulder refuge.
  • Do not create an artificial breeding or shelter structure as an immediate substitute without specialist design and approval.
  • Record the location and condition of the breeding place or refuge without unnecessary entry.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Injured or displaced animals

Stop nearby work and keep people, vehicles and dogs away. Contact the project ecologist, authorised wildlife carer or relevant wildlife authority for direction.

Place an animal in care only when directed and only by an authorised person. Use a secure, quiet, shaded container and follow approved wildlife handling procedures.

  • Do not feed, water or treat the animal unless directed by a qualified wildlife professional.
  • Record the animal's location, condition, photographs, apparent cause of injury and people involved.
  • Arrange veterinary assessment through the approved wildlife pathway.
  • Release or relocate an animal only under the authority of the relevant permit and advice.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Stop work records

The fauna spotter catcher should keep a daily record of inspections, clearances, sightings, captures, relocations, injuries, mortalities and stop work events.

Report any possible Nabarlek record promptly to the project ecologist and relevant authority. Preserve photographs, camera files and location data.

  • Record date, time, coordinates, habitat, activity, identification confidence and action taken.
  • Record the machinery, work stage and impact associated with each incident.
  • Update the site map with exclusion areas, retained refuges and cleared areas.
  • Resume work only after the fauna spotter catcher and project manager confirm that controls are in place.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Post clearance checks

Check the work area after each clearing stage and maintain protection around retained rocky habitat. Use the results to improve controls before the next stage or project phase.

Inspect the cleared area, retained refuges, access routes and exclusion fencing after disturbance. Look for injured animals, trapped animals, displaced rocks, damaged caves, blocked crevices and new access by machinery.

Repeat checks after heavy rain, blasting, major vibration, fire or changes to drainage that could affect rocky shelter.

  • Check beneath machinery, materials and temporary structures before they are moved.
  • Confirm that escape routes and access to retained foraging habitat remain open.
  • Remove waste, loose wire, netting and other entanglement hazards.
  • Repair damaged exclusion fencing promptly.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and relocated animals

Where an animal has been captured or relocated, monitor the release location and nearby refuge where required by the permit or ecologist. Use cameras or repeat observations to check for activity without repeated handling.

Retain monitoring records with the project fauna register.

  • Record the release location, date, time, handler, permit, animal condition and method used.
  • Check for evidence of continued use of rocky refuges and nearby foraging areas.
  • Investigate repeated absence, injured animals, cat activity, fire damage or changes in food plants.
  • Do not assume that a relocated animal has survived without follow up where monitoring is required.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Reporting and incident review

Report listed species records, injury, mortality, habitat damage and permit breaches to the relevant authority within the required timeframe. Meet all EPBC, Northern Territory, Western Australian or other state reporting conditions.

Review every stop work event and near miss before the next clearing stage.

  • Compare actual impacts with the approved management plan and conditions.
  • Update the risk assessment if a new refuge, population or foraging area is found.
  • Retrain crews where procedures were missed.
  • Use verified records to update regional databases and project habitat mapping.

After habitat disturbance: 4. Long term monitoring

Where habitat is retained or the project may affect a known population, establish monitoring suited to the site. Cameras at refuges and repeat night observations can help track use of rocky habitat and nearby foraging areas.

Set monitoring duration, triggers and responsibilities with the approving authority and project ecologist. Avoid presenting short term non detection as proof that the species is absent.

  • Monitor retained caves, crevices, boulder piles, adjacent flats and fire affected areas.
  • Track feral Cat activity, invasive grasses, grazing pressure, fire extent and fire intensity.
  • Review results after each wet and dry season where the project risk warrants it.
  • Apply additional controls if monitoring shows declining use, repeated disturbance or loss of refuge quality.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore connected rocky habitat, native food plants and safe access between refuges and foraging areas. Natural caves, crevices and boulder piles are the preferred shelter features for this species.

Retain and stabilise natural rock features wherever possible. Do not bury, seal, illuminate or unnecessarily modify caves, crevices, ledges or boulder piles.

Recontour disturbed ground to match surrounding landform and restore native vegetation around rocky refuges and floodplain margins.

  • Use locally appropriate native species from suitable local sources.
  • Restore vegetation cover around retained rocky habitat and movement routes.
  • Prevent erosion and sediment entry into caves, crevices and drainage lines.
  • Remove temporary roads, stockpiles, fencing and hardstand areas when no longer required.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Breeding and shelter structures

Nabarleks use caves, crevices, boulder piles and rock ledges as shelter. Nest boxes, bat boxes and artificial nest sites are not established replacement structures for this species.

Do not install artificial roost or breeding structures as a routine substitute for natural rocky habitat. If natural refuge has been lost, obtain specialist advice before designing any rock refuge or other replacement structure.

  • Prioritise protection and restoration of natural rock refuges.
  • Use any artificial refuge only under an approved, species specific design and monitoring program.
  • Do not move rocks or construct boulder piles without considering stability, temperature, predator access, drainage and animal movement.
  • Keep replacement structures away from machinery routes, livestock access, intense lighting and frequent fire.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Weeds, grazing and predators

Control invasive grasses and weeds that alter food plants, habitat condition and fire behaviour. Avoid broad scale disturbance of native ground cover during weed treatment.

Manage livestock and feral herbivore access where grazing competes with Nabarleks or changes the floristic composition of foraging areas.

  • Use targeted weed control methods that do not contaminate caves, crevices or food plants.
  • Prevent new weed establishment on rehabilitated ground.
  • Monitor for feral Cats and apply approved control methods where authorised and feasible.
  • Keep domestic dogs and other introduced predators away from retained and rehabilitated habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Fire, water and lighting

Manage fire to reduce frequent, extensive and high intensity burns across rocky habitat and connected foraging areas. Plan fire with local land managers and Traditional Owners, using local ecological knowledge and applicable fire policy.

Maintain natural drainage and seasonal wetland conditions. Avoid creating water points that increase predator access or alter habitat around refuges.

  • Protect caves, crevices, boulder piles and adjacent native vegetation during planned burns.
  • Prevent hot machinery, escaped fire and slash fuel from damaging rocky refuges.
  • Use low spill, shielded lighting and switch lights off when not needed near retained habitat.
  • Avoid lighting cave entrances, movement routes and nearby foraging areas at night.

Rehabilitation actions: 5. Rehabilitation monitoring

Monitor rehabilitation for establishment of native vegetation, erosion, weed spread, fire impacts, grazing, feral Cat activity and use by Nabarleks or other rock wallabies.

Continue monitoring long enough to identify whether restored habitat is stable and connected to suitable natural refuges.

  • Photograph fixed points before works and during rehabilitation.
  • Check rocky refuges and adjacent foraging areas during suitable night surveys.
  • Record camera detections, signs, habitat condition and management actions.
  • Repair failed erosion controls, replace dead plants and adjust weed, grazing, predator or fire management when results are poor.

Sources