Fundraiser Backs Six Threatened Species Recovery Teams
Donations to the Wildlife Conservation Fund will be divided among six teams protecting species such as the Pookila and Smoky Mouse before the campaign closes in April 2027.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Wildlife
The Zoo and Aquarium Association has launched an urgent fundraising campaign for six Recovery Teams working to save threatened species across Australasia. The campaign runs until April 2027, and funds raised will be split among the six teams when it closes.
Why it matters
The campaign targets species with very small remaining populations, including fewer than 60 Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies in the wild and around 800 Central Rock Rats. For readers who care about wildlife, the appeal shows how zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries are pooling resources to protect species that cannot recover on their own.
Six threatened species are targeted by the campaign, including fewer than 60 Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies remaining in two wild locations and roughly 5,000 Smoky Mice across five forest and shrubland sites. The Growling Grass Frog is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
The players
Zoo and Aquarium Association
Represents zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks and sanctuaries across Australasia, and runs the Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Wildlife Conservation Fund
A registered deductible gift recipient established in 2020 to support threatened-species Recovery Teams.
The details
The Growling Grass Frog team plans to build a dedicated breeding facility to return the species to the wild, responding to a population decline driven by residential and commercial development, invasive species, disease and climate change. The Smoky Mouse team will cryobank cells and live-trap animals to assess whether individuals can be moved between Gariwerd populations. The Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby team aims to establish two new populations in Grampians National Park, and the Central Rock Rat team is sequencing 11 genome samples collected from the Central Western Desert Indigenous Protected Area.
Timeline
The Wildlife Conservation Fund was established in 2020.
The Association's annual conference was held in Auckland in August 2026.
The fundraising campaign is scheduled to close in April 2027.
The Home Front
The campaign extends the Wildlife Conservation Fund, set up in 2020, which pools donations for several Recovery Teams at once rather than backing a single project. Its pooled model places species conservation alongside other community-funded causes that gather support for many projects through one registered gift recipient.
If you want to support these efforts, check whether a donation to the Wildlife Conservation Fund is tax-deductible in your country, since it is a registered deductible gift recipient. Keep a record of any gift for your own tax documentation.
The takeaway
Campaigns like this one show how small, scattered populations of threatened animals depend on pooled support. Note the April 2027 closing date if you want to contribute.
What happens next
The fundraising campaign closes in April 2027, when funds will be divided among the six Recovery Teams.
Further reading
For more on how threatened species are being protected, explore the Wildlife section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Blooloop.
