Finally. Almost everything is in place to relocate the first Greater bilbies from inside the predator-proof fence. It’s a first for Queensland. And a whole new world for the bilbies.

There are now over 700 bilbies inside a fence built for our part of the 10,000 bilbies in managed areas insurance population which is just 400 bilbies. They are going to out of room soon and the population is under pressure. The translocation must happen now.

But outside the fence, feral cats are already waiting.

These are not the cats curled up on your couch. Feral cats can weigh up to seven kilos – bigger, faster and more aggressive than any domestic cat.

They hunt by instinct, not necessarily hunger, killing and discarding multiple animals in a single night. Across Australia, they kill up to 8 million native animals every single day.

And our bilbies are completely defenceless against them.

For a decade, Felixer predator-control units have been our frontline defence. In 10 years at Currawinya, over 500 feral cats have been stopped. Hundreds of bilbies have been safer because of it.

But the lease on our four Felixers will expire on 1 July.

These high-tech units, which offer a humane and highly-targeted way to keep down feral cat numbers, come at a cost.

We urgently need to raise $144,000 to renew our lease for three years.

Then, with your protection, the first bilbies can be carefully relocated into the Currawinya National Park, beyond the predator-proof fence, where we will closely monitor their progress.

It’s been a long journey to get to this point. It’s taken longer that we hoped. But we have to do it right for the bilbies. Without you, we’d never have got this far.