IntroductionIn this article we examine a particular form of cooperative wildlife management on Aboriginal-owned land in the tropical savanna. Our argument is three-fold. First, we propose that sustainable economic development for indigenous people living on Aboriginal-owned land, and wildlife harvesting and management are inter-related. Second, we argue that sustainable harvesting will require a high level of cooperation between indigenous harvesters of wildlife -the holders of indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) -biological scientists, and social scientists. Third, we show that while there are existing institutions facilitating such harvesting and collaboration, there is need for further institutional innovation and purpose-built design. 'Hybridity' (in the sense of heterogeneity or fusion) is the key concept central to our proposition that is couched in terms of understanding the hybrid economy, hybrid approaches to sustainability, and hybrid institutions respectively.The empirical evidence presented here focuses on one case study in the tropical savanna of the Northern Territory of Australia. We provide information on a particular region, north-central Arnhem Land, and show how the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) has been at the forefront of a newly emerging form of bottom-up collaborative wildlife management. In conclusion, it is argued that the wildlife management institutional framework proposed here, based on the BAC model, poses challenges for a diversity of interests -state wildlife management authorities, the science community and the indigenous affairs policy community. We believe that such challenges are surmountable.