The ACT government will spend $4.5 million over four years to try and  prevent the extinction of the endangered Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon.

This is on top of $2.7 million spent since 2020 and forms part of a recovery plan to conserve the unique lizard, which is found only in the Canberra region.

The $4.5 million will support:

• $2.4 million for program operations, including staffing to manage breeding colonies and deliver recovery actions.
• $2 million to expand the breeding colony at Melbourne Zoo, aiming for up to 200 breeding individuals.
• $120,000 for ongoing release of Dragons bred in captivity back into the wild.

The government says the earlier spending was aimed at habitat restoration, trial reintroductions, population viability modelling, and cutting-edge genetic matchmaking to ensure a healthy, genetically diverse population.

Genetic analysis and matchmaking programs are essential to address inbreeding, which is why a partnership with Melbourne Zoo is crucial for the project.

Melbourne Zoo has a captive colony of Dragons, from which it provides animals for release and research, and has shared its expertise in husbandry and breeding techniques, developed over several years, with the ACT government.

The Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon – measuring 15 cm and weighing 5-9 grams — was recognised as a distinct species in 2019.

The government says its population has declined dramatically due to habitat loss, fragmentation, altered fire and grazing regimes and climate impacts. With wild populations now isolated in the Majura and Jerrabomberra Valleys and parts of Queanbeyan, the species is now listed as critically endangered.