Endangered Parrots The FintekNews team loves all the creatures of the planet, so when we came across this piece about a highly successful crowdfunding campaign to help endangered parrots, we had to share it with our readers. In fact, this demonstrates, in a perfect way, how crowdfunding can be used for charitable or conservation purposes in addition to funding startup companies, and the like. A feel good story to start your week.

(Cindy Taylor, Publisher)

An endangered parrot endemic to Norfolk Island's future has been safeguarded after a crowdfunding campaign to create an "insurance colony" exceeded its target.

More than $86,000 was raised from 699 supporters to transport a group of Norfolk Island green parrot fledglings to nearby predator-free Phillip Island.

The $77,000 target was reached with almost a week to spare.

Operation Green Parrot was the most recent in a series of measures Islanders and mainland supporters took to ensure the survival of the species, which was driven to near-extinction by the early 1980s due to introduced rats, cats and other birds on Norfolk.

A rehabilitation project conducted on Phillip Island over the last 30 years successfully cleared the outcrop of feral animals and replant of vegetation the green parrot used as food.

The conservationists had a March to May deadline to transport the birds during the period in which they were old enough to be taken from the nest, but young enough that they would not immediately fly back to Norfolk Island.

The extra money raised from the campaign will go toward further predator eradication and nest protection on Norfolk Island for the birds that will remain.

Norfolk Island National Park manager Craig Doolan said the crowdfunding organisers did not know what sort of reaction to expect.

"We hoped we would reach the goal," he said.

"Nothing like this had really been done before on the island."

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