A feasibility study has found that emus could be reintroduced to Namadgi National Park. The next step will be a cultural assessment in partnership with traditional custodians. 

 Namadgi Area Manager Mim Jambrecina said the project is being followed by conservation groups in Tasmania and Victoria.

 Emus were once common in the Canberra region at the time of European settlement but were considered extirpated in the immediate area around 1860. They were reintroduced to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in the 1970s and a small population from those individuals still exists in the Cotter, Pierces Creek and Tidbinbilla area.

 ‘Rewilding is a new global movement that recognises the importance of species that are ecosystem engineers,’ Mim said.

‘Large herbivores like emus are natural agents of regeneration and may be important in helping plants adapt quickly to climate change because they eat broadly, are found across all plant communities and move so far. They are also culturally significant and iconic.’