By Brendan Rees
A local wildlife sanctuary’s efforts to save the incredibly rare orange-bellied parrot have been so successful, they now have more in captivity than exist in the wild.
Pearcedale’s Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park’s has been announced as a finalist for the Premier’s Sustainability Awards, following a campaign to save the rare bird.
The sanctuary is one of 29 outstanding finalists across 10 categories in contention for The Premier’s Sustainability Awards, now in its 15th year, that recognise and celebrate Victorians who are leading the way to a sustainable future.
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park director Michael Johnson said his team’s commitment to saving the “critically endangered” orange-bellied parrot had “been a fantastic experience and one we are very dedicated to.”
He said the park built a 20-aviary complex, with a free flight area for up to 40 breeding orange-bellied birds, which has the potential to produce up to 40 offspring.
Last summer, he said, the aviary produced 25 offspring from 12 pairs, helping to save the endangered species from extinction.
“We have had great breeding success with it. We were involved with a release down at Werribee earlier this where we released four birds.”
“To give you an idea, there’s less than 20 in the wild currently in the whole of the world,” he said.
Mr Johnson said being announced as a finalist for the sustainability was unexpected: “It’s nice to be recognised. As a private organisation we invest a lot of time and money in it. It’s hard work sometimes.”
He said the sanctuary faced its biggest challenge in releasing enough birds to build up a population in the long-term.
“Obviously they face a lot of challenges in the wild. They migrate every year to Tasmania. They breed in Tasmania in the summer and they come back and live along our coast in the winter, so it’s a pretty tough gig for them.”
“It’s what we want to do, so we’re happy that we are able to do it and contribute.”
Mr Johnson said there were 43 orange-bellied parrots at the sanctuary – some of which are either in the breeding facility or waiting to be released in Tasmania, which he hopes will occur this summer.
“Some are waiting to be transferred to another wildlife park and some of them are on display – so we’ve got about five birds on display so people can see them.”
He said his team were building new aviaries as the orange-bellied parrot approached breeding season.
“You look on a species like a Rembrandt. If you destroy a Rembrandt, it’s gone forever. There’s nothing there to replace it. Individual species are the same – once they’re gone, they’re gone. And we’re losing a lot more species now than at any other time in the history of the world basically.”
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio congratulated each finalist for their exemplary work.
“Each finalist is a testament to the world-class sustainability work we do in Victoria and the prestige of the Premier’s Sustainability Awards program.“
“We’ve had the broadest cross-section of entries in the award’s 15 year history and it’s great to see such ingenuity and innovation in the way Victorians approach sustainability,” she said.
The winners from 10 categories will be announced at the awards ceremony on 26 October.
Two winners will be selected by the Premier for the Premier’s Regional Recognition Award for a finalist who has demonstrated notable benefits for regional Victoria and a Premier’s Recognition Award for an organisation which showcases exemplary innovation and determination in overcoming obstacles in sustainability.
