Eight critically endangered Australian native Plains-wanderer birds have been born at Werribee Open Range Zoo, marking a significant milestone in threatened species conservation.
The birds were born in the Zoo’s conservation facility this past spring season and are part of the National Recovery Plan for the Plains-wanderer that aims to save the species from extinction.
The fluffy, golden-haired chicks each weigh between just four to five grams and are being carefully monitored day and night by the zoo’s threatened species keepers.
Plains-wanderers are an Australian native species, lesser known than the widely identified koala, platypus, echidna, wombat or kangaroo, however are equally, if not even more, precious with fewer than a thousand estimated to be living in the wild.
Werribee Open Range Zoo natives coordinator Jacinda Goodwin said the extremely rare and charming little chicks are thriving.
“They are just adorable and have so much charisma,” Ms Goodwin said.
“One of my favourite things to do as a keeper is to watch their behaviours and see them all run, huddle and tuck underneath their dad’s chest feathers to keep warm during the colder weather.”
The Plains-wanderer was once widespread throughout the grasslands of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Extensive habitat destruction, impacts from over grazing, introduced predators, and extreme weather events resulted in a dramatic decline (>85%) of the species’ population throughout the past 20 years, driving them to the brink of extinction.
Today, they live in two remaining strongholds in Victoria’s Northern Plains and the New South Wales Riverina.
Ms Goodwin said zoo breeding programs and wild release trials are two of many important conservation techniques helping to re-establish a self-sufficient and thriving wild Plains-wanderer population.
“We have an insurance population of Plains-wanderers at Werribee Open Range Zoo, and we work with other wildlife organisations around Australia to help maintain genetic diversity for the species,” Ms Goodwin said.
“Some of these birds are released into the wild as part of ongoing release trials that aim to bolster wild populations.”
In evolutionary terms, Plains-wanderers are genetically distinct from any other species on the planet and are the last family on their evolutionary line. Werribee Open Range Zoo has successfully bred a total of 36 Plains-wanderers since the Zoo’s threatened species facility opened in 2017, and it is hoped additional chicks will be born during this 2022-23 breeding season.
The Plains-wanderer is one of 27 Australian priority threatened species that Zoos Victoria is committed to saving from extinction.
Details: zoo.org.au.
