Western ground parrot 'facing extinction' after devastating Esperance bushfires
Submitted by Chickowee on 22 Jan 2016.
An avian expert says the critically endangered western ground parrot could become the first bird in at least 200 years to become extinct in Western Australia.
Already critically endangered, the parrot's south-coast habitat was decimated by last year's catastrophic Esperance bushfires.
While two parrots were rescued and brought into Perth Zoo's captive breeding program, both birds died in captivity.
A post mortem by zoo staff confirmed the animals had died of aspergillosis, a respiratory disease common in parrots in captivity.
To say our team feel the pressure is an understatement. It's been a hard few weeks.
Perth Zoo spokeswoman
Birdlife WA chairman Mike Bamford said it was a particularly concerning development.
"We could be looking at extinction," Dr Bamford said.
