The development of the Mount Panorama racing circuit, not to mention residential developments on the Mount, naturally come at some cost to wildlife populations who call the Mount home.

And increased development of housing subdivisions in the immediate vicinity of the Mount over recent years has taken away alternate grazing areas for kangaroos, potentially driving even more on to the Mount.

But it’s the great diversity of land uses on Mount Panorama that has created – and will continue to create – friction between the natural resources and human presence.

There is a race track, homes, farms, reception centres and vineyards all sharing the same patch of land as kangaroos, wallaroos and other wildlife.

Researchers from the Bathurst Kangaroo Project have been closely monitoring the ‘roo population, partly in response to continued calls for kangaroos culls on the Mount to reduce the risk of ‘roos entering the circuit during races.

The “camera traps” set up by researchers captured some stunning images of the albino wallaroos and created significant excitement around the globe.

The wallaroos put a new face on the Mount’s ‘roo population and helped shift some public perception about whether kangaroos were in plague proportions on the Mount.

Now comes the news that one of the wallaroos has died, with stress as a result of excavation work inside the race track cited as a possible cause of death.

That highlights the difficulties associated with having a race track trying to coexist with one of Bathurst’s great natural assets – and there are no easy answers.

The economic benefits that flow from Mount Panorama, and the money that Bathurst has invested in the race track over the years, mean that continued development is inevitable – and that’s fair enough.

Bathurst should be proud of the Mount circuit and there is no shame in reaping the benefits of our investment.

But we also need to be aware of the special wildlife that calls the Mount home and the city’s treatment of that wildlife will be closely monitored by conservationists everywhere.

We need to tread carefully, and we need to act appropriately.