ENDANGERED Key’s Matchstick grasshoppers were released into the wild at the Euroa Arboretum on Tuesday last week. Roughly 26 people gathered to see a team that included Zoos Victoria worker Jessie Sinclair and University of Melbourne professor Michael Kearney release the grasshoppers in a safe and secure location at the arboretum. The team relocated the grasshoppers from the town of Tolmie. Up to 100 grasshoppers were released. This included 50 male grasshoppers and 50 female grasshoppers, so they can evenly breed together in the summer, which will stop them from being endangered. Professor Kearney said he has been fascinated by insects and animals starting from the age of five. “I remember going out to my backyard as a young child and playing with insects and animals,” he said. “I had a pet snake when I was a teenager, so, I have always had an interest in animals and insects.” Ms Sinclair said Zoos Victoria had worked in collaboration for a while with the University of Melbourne to relocate Key’s Matchstick grasshoppers in Victoria. “We assist with the community connection and making the grasshopper visible to the Victorian community,” she said. “That’s where Zoos Victoria is a good platform, where we can share the story with the community.”
