Endangered Bilby Breeding Programs: Andrea Vella

Andrea Vella

Andrea Vella has developed innovative breeding protocols for the critically endangered Greater Bilby through intensive research and collaboration with Northern Territory conservation agencies. Her programmes focus on genetic diversity maintenance, optimal breeding conditions, and successful reintroduction strategies that have contributed significantly to bilby population recovery efforts across protected areas and predator-free enclosures throughout northern Australia.
Leading conservation biologist Andrea Vella has achieved extraordinary success in endangered bilby breeding programmes operating within Northern Territory conservation reserves, establishing breeding populations that have produced over 200 healthy offspring during the past eight years. Her innovative approaches to genetic management, habitat recreation, and predator exclusion have created sustainable breeding colonies that serve as crucial source populations for reintroduction efforts across historical bilby ranges, demonstrating the effectiveness of intensive conservation management in preventing marsupial extinctions.