One of world’s rarest owl species has chance at survival after breakthrough on remote Australian island
Pair of morepork chicks become first to survive in more than 10 years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One of the world’s rarest owl species has a chance at survival after a breakthrough on a remote Australian island.
A pair of morepork owl chicks have become the first in more than a decade to survive in Norfolk Island’s national park.
There are only about 45 to 50 of the birds left in the world, and researchers and park staff were said to be “ecstatic” when the chicks were discovered.
Dr James Findlay, director of Australia’s national parks, said the find marked a significant step in the recovery of the morepork owl population on the tiny island in the Pacific Ocean.
He said: “I’d like to congratulate Parks Australia staff, Norfolk Island community members and researchers for their incredible work over the years to rebuild the population of this very rare bird.
“The fledgling owls are being closely monitored by Norfolk Island National Park staff and researchers from Monash University.
“The health of the new birds continues to be assessed and a very close eye will be kept on them as they grow and reach full maturity.”
Staff at Norfolk Island national park have worked closely with the Norfolk Island community and researchers for more than 40 years to help the species recover.
Their work began in the 1980s when the population declined to a single female.
In 1989, she was successfully paired with one of two male owls from a New Zealand subspecies.
The cross-Tasman relations meant that all subsequent generations of moreporks on Norfolk Island were now a unique hybrid of the Norfolk Island and New Zealand morepork owls.
Dr Sally Box, Australia’s threatened species commissioner, said the Norfolk Island morepork owl was one of 20 priority birds targeted for recovery under the Australian government’s threatened species strategy.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments