Seven critically endangered male birds have been let loose on protected grasslands in the hopes of winning the affection of wild females.

Billed as Love Island: Animal Edition, the plucky plains-wanderer bombshells have entered Barapa Barapa country, including Terrick Terrick, through a Zoos Victoria breeding program.

The Werribee Open Range Zoo conservation project is in place to supplement existing populations, with fewer than 1000 adult birds estimated to be left in the wild.

Their numbers have reduced by 85 per cent over the past few decades, with habitat loss and degradation driving the decline.

Zoos Victoria threatened bird project officer Dr Aaron Grinter said love is a lady’s game when it comes to these tiny birds.

“Unlike most other bird species where males are dressed to impress with eye-catching plumage, the plains-wanderer males are fairly plain,” he said.

“Females will create a reverse harem or stud farm, where they’ll mate with multiple males and step away, leaving child-rearing duties to the doting dad.”

The males have been fitted with radio transmitters to allow conservationists to track the well-camouflaged species as they search for love.

Plains-wanderers have existed for around 60-million years and are a genetically distinct grassland species that thrive among tussocks in Australia’s south-east, including near Patho and Bael-Bael.

Parks Victoria project officer Ben Hodgens said release locations were ideal for the picky residents’ ideal conditions.

“Plains-wanderers are fussy, but they’re also a species that can do quite well alongside grazing practices,” he said.

“At the moment, we use ecological grazing of livestock to manage the introduced vegetation, and then let the grasslands rest for the remainder of the year to promote a complex habitat for the animals that live here.”

Sadly, the native grasslands are also critically endangered, with 95 per cent of the habitat destroyed by urban development and land clearing over the past two centuries.

Barapa chief executive Deborah Webster said protecting and restoring the fragile grasslands was essential for species like the plains-wanderer.

“The Barapa Barapa people have cared for these lands for more than 60,000 years,” she said.

“To see these little birds return to country is a reminder that all of the work being done to heal Country helps prevent these precious plants and animals from disappearing.”

The plains-wanderer release trial is supported by the Victorian Government through the Nature Fund, and by anonymous donors to Zoos Victoria.

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Sunday, 16th November 2025

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