With help from international experts, Perth Zoo’s animal carers undertook an artificial insemination procedure on the elusive native bird – a world first for the species!

Professor Michael Lierz from University of Giessen and Dr. Dominik Fischer from Zoo Wuppertal were flown in from Germany to provide expertise and help us take a step forward in the race against extinction for Western Ground Parrots.

The specialists are experts in parrot artificial reproduction and with fewer than 150 Western Ground Parrots left in the wild, their assistance is an important tool in the parrot’s conservation.

Both semen collection and artificial insemination were undertaken, with the process providing significant learnings about the species’ biology to influence potential conservation strategies.

With this new information, the Zoo is hopeful it will one day successfully produce a chick and give a further boost to efforts to save the species from extinction.

Saving wildlife in action!