The bid to save the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot was boosted last week, as part of an innovative trial supported by the Andrews Labor Government.
The first of 36 Orange-bellied Parrots were released over two locations, as part of a successful five-year program to add captive-bred birds to the wild population and give them a better chance of survival.
The birds released from Lake Connewarre and Western Port Bay join 100 Orange-bellied Parrots now part of the wild flock, previously let go from Victorian sites in the Mainland Release Trial.
Supported by the success of the trial, this autumn will see the largest flock of Orange-bellied Parrots migrate to Victoria in 15 years, with over 140 expected to fly north from their Tasmanian breeding grounds.
The Orange-bellied Parrot Mainland Release Trial is supported by funding from the Labor Government’s Biodiversity On-Ground Action Icon Species Grants program, as well as Zoos Victoria, the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, and the Moonlit Sanctuary in Pearcedale.
Moonlit Sanctuary Director Michael Johnson said the sanctuary has been involved in the Orange-bellied Parrot recovery program since 2014.
“Since that time we have bred about 300 birds and seen about half that number released,” Mr Johnson said.
“We first became involved with the mainland release program in 2020.
“The Orange-bellied Parrot is a critically endangered species which declined to a low of 17 birds in the wild just 4 years ago.
“Without the breeding and release OBP’s would have almost certainly become extinct.
“Moonlit Sanctuary was set up with the objective of working with just such species.”
The Orange-bellied Parrots have also benefited from a successful breeding season in the wild, combined with large-scale releases of captive-bred birds at the Tasmanian site in spring and late summer.
The species has gone from being at imminent risk of extinction, with only 50 birds left in the wild in 2017, to a fifteen-year high thanks to the trial and broader conservation efforts.
“Working with endangered species has been a life-long ambition, and I am just so proud of the work all our staff have done to help save this little bird,” Mr Johnson said.
The Labor Government has invested over $560 million towards protecting biodiversity since 2014.
