Unprecedented access: Inside Tasmania's orange-bellied parrot captive breeding program
On the outskirts of Hobart stands a collection of grey steel buildings, surrounded by a tall electrified chain link fence. It almost looks like a small prison. But you won’t find criminals behind these walls. Here, one of Australia’s rarest bird species is being brought back from the brink of extinction.
By Candice Marshall. Photography and videography by Matthew Newton • September 28, 2022
- video at link -
Filmmaker Matthew Newton recently gained unprecedented access to the Five Mile Beach Wildlife Management Facility to document the work of a group of dedicated staff and volunteers, rostered on around the clock, breeding and caring for critically endangered orange-bellied parrots (Neophema chrysogaster).
At the time of writing, more than 300 orange-bellied parrots reside at the purpose-built facility as part of the Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program.
Meanwhile, the wild population fluctuates between 50 and 150 individuals, depending on the season.
In 2016 the species was almost lost forever when just 17 of the birds returned from migration to their breeding ground at Melaleuca, a remote location in Tasmania’s south-west wilderness.
“Only 17 orange-bellied parrots returned to Melaleuca at the start of the 2016/17 season,” says Michael Domrose. “Only four of them were females. They were close to being declared functionally extinct.”
More:
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2022/09/unprecedented-access-inside-tasmanias-orange-bellied-parrot-captive-breeding-program/
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