A female Lord Howe Island Stick Insect began laying eggs in February and the first hatched on Sunday, said Patrick Honan, a zoo official.

About 100 eggs are still incubating at the zoo, he said.

The Lord Howe Island Stick Insects belong to a group of ancient invertebrates nicknamed "Jurassic insects."

The breeding pair of the rare creatures in Melbourne are the only adults of the species in captivity.

The species was believed to be extinct for more than 80 years after rats introduced to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea about 700 kilometersmiles) east of Australia killed the flightless insects off in 1918.

But a scientific expedition in 2001 discovered some of the insects surviving in harsh conditions on Ball's Pyramid, a huge rocky outcrop located near Lord Howe Island.

TERRA.WIRE