5 Jun 2013

Report finds two Fijian bird species critically endangered

1:36 pm on 5 June 2013

A recently released report into the state of Fiji's birdlife has found that two species could go extinct within the next few years.

The author of the 'state of the birds' report, Dick Watling, says the Fiji Peterel and the Red-Throated Lorikeet were found to be critically endangered with their population believed to only be in the dozens.

Mr Watling says an NGO, Nature Fiji, has two detector dogs trying to find the birds' nesting sites, but he says conservation is difficult without any proper funding.

"Any work that is done on our rare and endangered birds is done by NGOs. And that is the big problem and we hope this report will bring that issue out into the open more that we really need to try to find some money for looking after some of these species because otherwise they're going to go."

Dick Watling says the species can be saved through a scientific breeding programme, but that depends on funding coming through.