The Conservationists Assemble is back with Volume 50!
Tune in to part 2 of the conversation with your host Jonny Bloxham and special guests, Kate Pearce and Rohan Cleave from Melbourne Zoo & Zoos Victoria.
This episode is all about the Lord Howe island stick insect. A critically endangered invertebrate endemic to Lord Howe island that went from estimated millions in population to what was thought to be complete extinction in the matter of a decade with the wreckage of a ship and the arrival of invasive rodents in the 1900s. That was until 2001 when a population of anywhere between 9-35 individuals were found on six Melaleuca howeana shrubs on the nearby and almost inhospitable, Ball's pyramid.
This conversation highlights a tremendous and ongoing effort to save a species from extinction.
Find some awesome resources and links below:
Sticky: Rediscovering the Lord Howe Stick Insect - Island Conservation
Lord Howe Island Stick Insect Conservation Breeding Program turns 20
Beyond Mega Zoo - The Lord Howe Island stick insect
Lord Howe Stick Insects, resilient survivors but are they cute?
Museum Lecture: The true life adventure story of Lord Howe Island Stick Insect
Reading with a Ranger – “Phasmid Saving the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect”
Phasmid Pale Ale 16-Case – Lord Howe Island Brewing Co
https://www.instagram.com/lenkomelb?igsh=cWdnZDdtaXpubThy - a link to the talented Dana Lenko who produced the jumper that Kate was wearing (and briefly discussed in part. 2)
