With only two colonies of 80 individuals left in the wild in Victoria, Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies are incredibly special and Critically Endangered.

These golden-tinged wallabies are not much bigger than a domestic cat and live their lives amongst the sheer vertical cliffs of rocky ranges - the kangaroo equivalent of mountain goats!

On the brink of collapse due to inbreeding, a colony living deep within the Little River Gorge of the Snowy River National Park in East Gippsland are in desperate need of new genetics from captive-bred animals.

Enter a skilled team of Wildlife Unlimited field ecologists, Parks Victoria rangers, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) conservation leads, Traditional Owners and wildlife sanctuary partners, who have once again pulled off a remarkable feat.

Trekking deep into the valley

For the sixth time in a decade, a surefooted team of ecological specialists backpacked Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies in and out of remote steep river gorges to provide the isolated colony with fresh genetics - three females and two male wallabies bred at Mount Rothwell, Victoria’s largest predator-free sanctuary, managed by the Odonata Foundation.

A team of specialists captured, weighed and vetted the Mount Rothwell wallabies before transporting them overnight 500 km away to their new home. The precious cargo was then carried in backpacks by three separate crews over two days and several kilometres into the most remote areas of the Snowy River National Park.

After carefully descending almost half a kilometre down the sheer cliffs of Little River Gorge, the crew successfully released their precious cargo into their new home in the existing colony of around 55 wallabies.

Read the Australian Geographic's story on the project.