THE second phase of a three-year program to prevent the extinction of eastern bristlebirds in Victoria has been successful, with 10 more birds now calling Wilsons Promontory National Park.
In a delicate week-long operation, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Parks Victoria and partners safely captured and transported the birds from Cape Howe to Wilsons Promontory National Park - the southernmost tip of mainland Australia.
The eastern bristlebird is a small, golden-brown bird that gets its name from the whiskers around its beak that help it grab fast moving insects. It is a nationally threatened species, listed as critically endangered in Victoria with fewer than 200 estimated remaining in the wild.
As part of a national recovery program to save the species from extinction, in April 2022 the Government, Parks Victoria and partners from organisations across Australia secured a new population in Wilson’s Promontory National Park.
As part of the $23 million Wilsons Prom Revitalisation Project, Wilsons Promontory National Park is being transformed into a haven for wildlife like the bristlebirds, making it the perfect place for a new population to be established.
Following the success of the first translocation, where 17 birds were introduced to the Prom from Jervis Bay in New South Wales, this second phase will increase the genetic diversity of the Wilsons Promontory population, providing the next generation of bristlebirds with increased resistance to pests, diseases and the impacts of climate change.
Until the Wilsons Promontory population was established, the entire eastern bristlebird population was restricted to just three geographically separated regions across the east coast of Australia.
Phase two of the eastern bristlebird recovery program in Victoria will be supported by Parks Victoria, and program partners include Bird Life Australia, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, NSW Environment and Heritage, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Zoos Victoria.
