Updated 7 Sep 2017, 10:03am
A rescue plan is underway to try
to save one of Australia's smallest native birds, the Mallee emu wren, in the
eastern parts of South Australia.
The tiny endangered bird, which
weighs less than a pen, is under threat after bushfires destroyed much of its
habitat and sent bird numbers plummeting.
Now the Mallee emu-wren,
described by bird enthusiasts as the 'holy grail' of birds, can only be found
in Victoria's north-west after the 2014 bushfires in South Australia.
Researchers like Dr Simon Watson
from La Trobe University are worried a severe bushfire season could threaten
the remaining bird population.
"The very worst-case scenario
is that we have such a fire season that we don't need to worry about Mallee
emu-wrens anymore, because they don't exist," Dr Watson said.
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