The ACT will finally join the rest of the states and territories in having a mammal emblem.
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The ACT is currently the only state or territory without such an emblem, but a public consultation process will soon be under way to find a fitting mammal.
The ACT already has a floral emblem - the royal bluebell, found in the high mountain areas of the state, and the faunal emblem is the gang-gang cockatoo.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr expects that a Legislative Assembly committee would consult with the public, before coming up with a shortlist of potential mammal emblems that could be put to the public via an online vote.
Mr Barr suggested the online vote would occur early next year.
Mr Barr said the obvious candidate for the emblem role was the eastern bettong, but also mentioned the brush-tail rock wallaby as a contender, and agreed the echidna was "worthy".
The eastern bettong is a threatened species that, since being brought to the ACT from Tasmania in 2012, has found a home at the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary.
Only 40 brush-tail rock wallabies remain in the wild but Canberra's Tidbinbilla Nature Park is helping them survive through its national breeding program.
The echidna is a tourist attraction and has a thriving population in the ACT.
Mr Barr said if the eastern bettong or the brush-tail rock wallaby were chosen to represent the ACT, it would likely raise awareness of their endangered status, which would benefit their conservation.
Other state and territory mammal emblems are the platypus in NSW, the Leadbeater's possum in Victoria, the southern hairy-nosed wombat in South Australia, the koala in Queensalnd, the Tasmanian devil in Tasmania, the numbat in Western Australia, and the red kangaroo in the Northern Territory.
We're keen to see which mammal you think best represents Canberra, ahead of the official public consultation process which will begin early next year. Take The Canberra Times' poll here:
