Park forgoes activities resulting in drop of visitors

Port Moresby Nature Park’s wildlife manager Ishimo Bebe (left) and Brett Smith, curator of Port Moresby Nature Park, arriving in Kikori, Gulf, during the second lockdown last year to deliver the 27 endangered pig-nose turtles back into their natural habitat. – Picture supplied

THE Port Moresby Nature Park says it was forced to make a quick shift to meet global health standards last year.
In a statement, Nature park said last year, it had to forgo many of its annual activities, resulting in a drop of visitors.
“But our staff remained resilient as protectors and promoters of the park despite the challenges that fell upon us,” the statement said.
“We started the year by completing the long-anticipated tree kangaroo precinct which now allows our visitors to walk through the pathways and enjoy our display of tree kangaroos while learning about the efforts made to conserve and protect these animals. We had a number of successes in our research, with our first successful breeding of frogs which is a first in PNG.
“Our wildlife officers travelled to Kikori to release the last 27 endangered pig-nosed turtles back into their natural habitat, signifying an end to five years of commitment done by the team and our partners at the park towards conservation.”
Nature park said it continued to accept dozens of surrendered wildlife which we both rehabilitate and release into the wild or have made the park their home.
Nature park launched the “Trees for Life” project where it aims to plant 50,000 trees.
The National is one of the sponsors of the park.