Mammals
Parma Wallaby
Notamacropus parma · also called white-throated wallaby
Believed lost for decades, the parma wallaby resurfaced first on a New Zealand island where an introduced population had quietly persisted, before researchers confirmed the species had also survived, undetected, back in a small pocket of its native Australian forest.
Overview
The parma wallaby, Notamacropus parma, is a small, forest-dwelling marsupial native to forest and grassland habitat within a restricted part of eastern Australia. Its remarkable rediscovery story, first through an introduced population on a New Zealand island and later on the Australian mainland itself, makes it one of the more genuinely surprising conservation comebacks among Australia’s wallaby species.
Lost, found abroad, then found at home
Few species have a rediscovery story quite as unusual as the parma wallaby’s, confirmed alive first through an unexpected introduced population overseas before researchers determined that a native mainland population had also quietly survived all along.
Status
Near Threatened, with surviving colonies still facing ongoing habitat loss and predation by introduced species that continue to limit the population’s recovery.
Parma Wallaby: common questions
Why was the parma wallaby presumed extinct?
This species suffered a sharp historical decline across its native mainland Australian range and was widely believed extinct in the wild for several decades, until an unexpected series of rediscoveries revealed that populations had in fact survived.
Where was the parma wallaby first rediscovered?
An introduced population of this species was unexpectedly identified living wild on a New Zealand island, providing the first confirmation that the species still survived anywhere, before it was later also rediscovered on the Australian mainland.
Is the parma wallaby still found in the wild in Australia?
Yes, this species was subsequently rediscovered living wild in a small area of its native mainland Australian range, confirming that at least one natural population had also survived the decline that led to its presumed extinction.
How can you identify a parma wallaby?
This species is among the smallest wallabies in its genus, with a compact build and a pale white or grey patch of fur across its throat, a feature distinctive enough to give the species one of its alternate common names, the white-throated wallaby.