For the first time in five years, a northern hairy-nosed wombat has been born in the Australian state of Queensland, it was announced Wednesday.

     The native creature, born at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge, 500 kilometers west of Brisbane, is one of the rarest species in the world with an estimated 250 left in the wild.

     "When we started this program in 2009, the northern hairy-nosed wombat was down to just 138 wombats left in the wild, at Epping Forest National Park," Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles explained in a statement obtained by Xinhua.

     "The Underwood family, who allowed part of their property to be used as a nature refuge, have helped boost the recovery of this endangered species."

     To protect the troubled marsupial, the nature reserve is surrounded by predator-proof fencing and includes a number of water stations for the wombats.

     Staff and wildlife officers at the facility can also monitor the behaviour of the animals, with the reserve's state of the art wildlife monitoring equipment and cameras.

     "It's been a long wait for the wombat specialist team," Miles said, who were monitoring the joey's mother for the last 10 months.

     "But finally it was confirmed that the joey has successfully left the pouch."

     Although researchers say, the animal was shy at first, they expect the joey to become a lot more active now that it has stepped out of the pouch.

     "This little joey is an important new arrival for the colony, and highlights that this refuge provides suitable conditions for successful breeding," Miles said.  Enditem