The Australian Geographic Society
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The Mala Lagorchestes hirsutus was widespread over arid Australia, and was probably one of the most abundant and widespread macropods of central Australia. It is now one of the rarest species within its distribution and it is extinct in the wild and was found mainly in the spinifex grasslands of the deserts of central Australia.
"Mala have been a significant species in the lives of central Australian Aboriginal people..."
Mala have been a significant species in the lives of central Australian Aboriginal people, and it is thought that changes in land management including a reduction in the burning of lands by Aboriginal people and an increase in grazing over the Mala’s range have contributed to its decline. The last wild colony of Mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) on the mainland became extinct in 1991.
Fortunately, a captive colony had been established at the Arid Zone Research Institute, Alice Springs, in 1980 using animals captured from the Tanami Desert. This captive colony is the founder of all Mala. It is critical that we continue to manage this species effectively. They are now restricted to areas into which feral predators cannot move including Trimouille Island, Western Australia, Scotia, NSW, Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, and Watarrka in the NT. There are some smaller populations elsewhere.
Population managers are keen to establish the genetic health of the Mala populations. Understanding the level of heterogeneity, or the un-relatedness of the Mala in the various populations, will inform the management of the whole population. It will assist in informing the managers how often, or indeed, if at all, individuals should be moved between the populations.
Determining this relatedness will be through DNA testing of hair samples of Mala. A very large bank of samples already exists.