Flash floods sweep through vital sanctuary for Australian animals

Wildlife carers fostering some of Australia’s most precious animals have had to rescue them one by one from rising waters and are now racing to repair fencing that keeps feral predators away

By James Woodford

23 May 2025

A Tasmanian devil is carried to safety by a ranger amid flooding at the Aussie Ark sanctuary

Aussie Ark

Conservation workers are racing to protect a precious group of Australian animals after record rainfall in New South Wales led to floods that have killed four people.

Tasmanian devils , brush-tailed rock wallabies , eastern quolls , long-nosed potoroos and broad-toothed rats are all kept fenced safely away from feral predators such as cats and foxes at the 400-hectare Aussie Ark sanctuary in Barrington Tops, New South Wales. The sanctuary’s animals are considered an insurance policy for their species, in case wild populations become extinct.

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Since 2010, 500 devil joeys alone have been born there and around 50 of these have been released into a specially protected wild area. In coming years, some of these animals are expected to be released outside the sanctuary to re-establish Tasmanian devil populations on mainland Australia.

But this week, a severe low-pressure weather system has hit parts of New South Wales, leading to record-breaking storms. In just a few days, well over 400 millimetres of rain fell at the sanctuary. Even though it is at the top of a mountain at an altitude of 1200 metres, the park experienced flash flooding, sweeping away fencing that excludes feral animals and threatening to drown some of the breeding animals in smaller enclosures.