By Alesha Capone
Orange-bellied parrots have been released into the wild as part of a trial to help boost the population of the endangered species.
About 36 of the brightly-coloured birds were set free at the Spit Nature Conservation Reserve near Werribee’s Western Treatment Plant, Bellarine Peninsula and Western Port Bay last Wednesday.
During the first four years of the trial, 80 captive-bred birds were released to join up with migrating wild birds which fly from Tasmania to breeding grounds on the mainland.
The trial is being delivered by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Zoos Victoria and Moonlit Sanctuary, which bred the parrots.
“At Moonlit, our breeding and training program is something we’re really proud of, so it’s exciting to see releases like this happening to protect the endangered orange-bellied parrot in the wild,” sanctuary director Michael Johnson said.
Zoos Victoria senior research manager Michael Magrath said the released parrots have tiny radio-tracking tags attached to their legs, to help monitor their progress.
The trial has been supported by $255,000 from the state government’s Biodiversity On-Ground Action Icon Species Grants program, $200,000 federal government’s National Landcare Program, $115,000 from Zoos Victoria and $60,000 from Moonlit Sanctuary.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said the orange-bellied parrot was one of the world’s rarest birds.
“In the last four years this species has gone from being at imminent risk of extinction in the wild, to numbers in the wild being at a ten-year high – and it’s wonderful to be part of the recovery program during this exciting time,” she said.
