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Barna Mia Animal Sanctuary
Barna Mia is an animal sanctuary with a difference. Nestled in the heart of Dryandra Woodland, south-east of Perth, Barna Mia is a place to discover threatened native marsupials in a natural setting, and experience the wonders of the woodland, once the sun has set and the action begins.
A tour guide takes visitors on a delightful journey through the sanctuary. Using specially placed lights, you can see threatened native animals such as dalgyte, woylie, wurrup, quenda and boodie.
Discover ...
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The dalgyte or bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a gentle animal with soft, blue-grey fur, long ears and a decorative black and white tail. It spends daylight hours in a deep burrow and emerges after dark to feed on insects, grubs, seeds, fungi and bulbs.
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The quenda or southern brown bandicoot (Isodon obesulus) digs in topsoil for insects and spiders, tubers and fungi, leaving conical pits in the soil. It shelters in a nest of vegetation beneath dense cover. Its occurs in coastal heath, forest and scrub areas of the south-west of WA.
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The wurrup or rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) is a slight, fragile marsupial with reddish, shaggy fur. When disturbed it springs from its shelter and quickly bounds away in a zigzag motion. Wildfire and predation by foxes extinguished the last two wild mainland populations in the early 1990s. This species now survives on islands and in enclosures such as Barna Mia.
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The boodie or burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur) is a social, vocal marsupial that lives in communal burrows. Once a common mammal living in semi-arid parts of mainland Australia, the boodie now lives only on a few islands and in mainland enclosures.
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The woylie or brushtailed bettong (Bettongia penicillata) feeds on underground fungi and also eats tubers, seeds and soil insects. It builds a nest of woven grass and bark in a scrape beneath low thick vegetation. Widespread control of foxes and reintroduction programs have enabled populations to expand in remnant dry sclerophyll forest in south western WA, including Dryandra Woodland, Tutanning Nature Reserve and Tone-Perup Nature Reserve.
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 Many of Western Australia's native mammals have been eradicated from their former habitats because of predation by cats and foxes, cleared vegetation and changed fire regimes. Preservation of Dryandra's 28,000 hectares of bushland enabled several native species to survive. Furthermore, Dryandra is once again becoming home for other indigenous animal species that were locally extinct.
The Department of Environment and Conservation's "Return to Dryandra" project aims to reintroduce native animals to former habitats by eliminating feral predators and establishing breeding programs. Five marsupials - the dalgyte, woylie, wurrup, quenda and boodie - are breeding in a fenced enclosure that excludes feral predators. New populations are released into Dryandra Woodland and other areas of bushland in the hope that they will re-establish themselves in their former habitats.
What you need to know
Where is it?
164 km south-east of Perth and 22 km kilometres north-west of Narrogin. Signposts to Dryandra are located on the Albany Highway at North Bannister, on the Great Southern Highway at Cuballing and at Narrogin.
View on Google maps.
Travelling time:
Less than two hours from Perth.
Admission to Barna Mia:
$14 adults
$12 adult concession
$7.50 children
$37.50 families
Opening hours:
Tours begin after sunset and vary seasonally. Contact the Department of Environment and Conservation's Narrogin office on (08) 9881 9200 or check out the information panel at the Lions Dryandra Village for departure times. Please book before 4pm by telephoning (08) 9881 9200 or the Dryandra Visitors Centre (08) 9884 2064 on weekends.
Closed:
Public holidays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (except by prior arrangement for groups).
Postal Address:
The District Manager
Department of Environment and Conservation
PO Box 100, Narrogin WA 6312
Telephone: (08) 9881 9200
Fax: (08) 9881 1645
Email:
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