What used to be a large, interconnected network of habitat in Alberta’s Sand Hills region is now a patchwork series of islands divided by cropland, roads and resource extraction operations. Many of the remaining sub-populations of kangaroo rat inhabiting these islands are too small to remain viable over time, while even the larger ones are subject to the dangers of inbreeding and disasters such as epidemics or drought. That’s why the recovery plans developed by Alberta’s Ord’s Kangaroo Rat Recovery Team and Environment Canada included translocation as a potential conservation tool. At the time, however, little was known about the feasibility of translocation, since it had never been attempted for this species. In response, Wildlife Preservation Canada funded a three-year, hands-on study beginning in 2012. Each spring, a small group of kangaroo rats were translocated and soft-released into artificial underground nests, which provided food and shelter. They were then monitored to determine whether they could successfully establish themselves and survive at the new site.