A mouse’s tale: lessons learned from recovery efforts for the threatened Shark Bay mouse (Pseudomys gouldii)

Conservation translocations are a long-established tool for bringing threatened species ‘back from the brink’ of extinction. However, while translocations have resulted in successful outcomes for many different species, globally these efforts still have a high incidence of failure. Therefore, it is critical to understand and communicate what has been learned from previous translocation efforts, so that future endeavours may have a greater likelihood of success. The Shark Bay mouse (Pseudomys gouldii) was formerly widespread across a large swathe of southern and central Australia but following European colonisation, it was extirpated from the Australian mainland. It survived only on Bernier Island off the west coast of Western Australia. Subsequent recovery efforts have included the establishment of a captive-breeding program and successful translocations to two additional islands but others have failed for reasons that are not well understood. Recently, a translocation to another island (Dirk Hartog Island) has demonstrated early success and it is likely that the further recovery of the species will depend on additional translocations. Here, we review previous recovery efforts for the Shark Bay mouse and what lessons have been learned about the species and its reintroduction biology.