Old-fashioned romance techniques of a nice meal and a bunch of flowers have proven successful for NSW scientists playing cupid to a critically endangered species of mouse.
Numbers of the smoky mouse have dropped to critically low levels in the state's wild due to their "gentle and naive" natures, which make them highly vulnerable to predators.
The only two sites in NSW where the species can be found is the Nullica area on the south coast and Kosciuszko National Park, the NSW government's Office of Environment & Heritage says.
Scientists have been working to increase the species' population numbers at a captive breeding facility outside of Queanbeyan since July last year - and met with success after trying their hand at some old-school techniques.
"We all know that food can be the gateway to someone's heart, and it certainly plays an important role for the smoky mouse," threatened species officer Dr Linda Broome said in a statement on Tuesday.
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"Flowers, food and emulating the smoky mouse's natural conditions in the wild are key in helping encourage breeding in the enclosures."
To woo the mice, the scientists placed native flowers and a diet of seeds and fruits in mutual meeting enclosures and were rewarded with six new litters of mice - with hopes of more to come.
The program aims to re-introduce the new mice to select NSW sites to boost their chances of surviving in the wild.
