The City of Melbourne has unleashed a herd of goats in Royal Park to help revitalise the environment of a species of lizard.
The White's skink population has been in Royal Park in Parkville for more than 20 years, and is one of the last surviving populations in central Melbourne.
The seven hardworking goats will eat the park's weeds, which make it hard for the skinks to sunbathe on the rocks. The reptiles need ground access so they can burrow away from predators, hibernate and mate.
Over the coming weeks, the goats are being gradually introduced to Royal Park in seven fenced-off areas while the lizards are in hibernation. Other plots will remain without goats to test how effective they are.
Indigenous grasses will be planted to replace exotic weeds smothering the skinks' habitat.
Acting Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the use of goats was the best option for the environment.
"The area has become overrun by weeds, so rather than using chemical herbicides, rather than manually getting in here and weeding the area, we've brought in a tribe of seven goats to conservation graze the area and make this an ideal ecosystem for the White's skinks of Melbourne," he said.
Mr Reece said the use of goats, as opposed to manual weeding, was more cost effective.
The trial is a partnership between the council and the University of Melbourne.
Julian Brown, a research fellow in urban ecology at the University of Melbourne, said the trial involved testing if the goats had any negative impacts on the lizards.
He said the goats were performing well in their duties so far.
He advised any visitors to remain behind the fences and refrain from feeding the goats.
The goats will be removed in early spring.
