This summer's bushfires in western Victoria’s National Park threatened many wildlife, among them the malleefowl. But conservationists have found that the bird's unique nesting method was key to saving the population in the affected area. Now, new homes are being sought for the freshly hatched chicks.
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00:00We hatched them and this is the area where they've been let go.
00:08We put the eggs in the incubator and we're lucky to have three eggs.
00:14We ended up with two lovely chicks.
00:17It goes probably 60 years since I first looked at belly fowl.
00:24We learned about them at school.
00:26Over that time, well I just was fascinated with the way they built a mound, how they
00:34laid the eggs, when they laid the eggs and how they built the temperature up in the mound.
00:44The fire has gone right through the central block.
00:48It's really knocked the whole place about and the nutty fowl, they've got to try and
00:54find another refuge somewhere or some sort of vegetation.
00:58They may live there but they may not reproduce because the habitat might not be suitable.
01:05That's why we're releasing them here because look at the height of it.
01:09You're looking at probably 10 metres of vegetation around here.
01:15So it's been a great exercise over the years that we do know that the beesbirds do survive.