In the black burnt out bush surrounding Kangaroo Valley, bright orange carrots and sweet potatoes now dot the landscape.
More than 100 kilograms of food and water were dropped into the area over the weekend, as part of an adorably named NSW Government campaign "Operation Rock-wallaby".
Thousands of kilograms of vegetables were delivered to six colonies across the state to help feed the endangered Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies in fire affected areas.
With news that more than a billion native animals have died in NSW alone, Environment Minister Matt Kean said the food drops were part of a major post-fire wildlife recovery effort.
"Initial fire assessments indicate the habitat of several important Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby populations was burnt in the recent bushfires," Mr Kean said.
"The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat.
"The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging..."
Food drops also took place in the Capertee and Wolgan valleys, Yengo National Park and Jenolan, Oxley Wild Rivers and Curracubundi national parks.
Mr Kean said this was the most widespread food drop ever done for the species and would help maintain these colonies and allow them to recover.
"At this stage, we expect to continue providing supplementary food to rock-wallaby populations until sufficient natural food resources and water become available again in the landscape, during post-fire recovery," he said.
The provision of food will be accompanied by intensive feral predator control, he said.
In other good news for South Coast animals, Mogo Zoo - which came under threat from the Currowan fire - has shared the first pictures of a new lion cub born at the zoo.
"We have welcomed a new lion cub into the Mogo family," zoo director Chad Staples, who stayed to protect the animals when it was evacuated on NYE, said.
"Obviously with everything going on I have left it until everything calmed down a little to share.
Mother "Chitwah" and cub are doing so good. She is a first time mum but is doing such an amazing job."
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
