Animal Diaries Archive

Crikey, check this sign out... what a beauty!

30 December 2005

With the help of Ian Günter, Senior Conservation Officer with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland Co-ordinator of the Coxen's Fig Parrot Recovery Program, the you-beaut bird crew are proud to display this attractive and informative sign for the enjoyment and education of our guests.

Money was generously donated through staff fundraising events to enable us to purchase this bonzer of a sign.

The Coxen's Fig Parrot is one of Australia's most endangered birds. It is the smallest of all the Australian parrots - about the size and colour of your average fig leaf! The Coxen's Fig Parrot is classed as critically endangered. This parrot has never been photographed and only 60 birds have been sighted since 1990.

Reliant on fig trees for food, this parrot has been vulnerable to the effects of the widespread clearing of its natural habitat. Conservation of the Coxen's Fig Parrot is now directed towards preserving potential habitat and determining the extent and distribution of the remaining populations. A national recovery team was formed in 1993 to investigate actions to save the Coxen's Fig Parrot. Regular searches are carried out by members of the recovery team and volunteers.

Although the population size of Coxen's Fig Parrot is now perilously low, the future of this critically endangered bird is not all loom and gloom. Confirmed or credible sightings continue to be made, with locations like the Noosa Hinterland, Maleny and Beerwah (our backyard) emerging as hot spots. As you can imagine, we here at Australia Zoo were more than happy to put our hand up and show our support for the Coxen's Fig Parrot Recovery Program. This new sign will hopefully inform our guests of the plight of this vulnerable little Aussie.