A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said.
![Secret mission saves Australias dinosaur trees from bushfires](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/9e45ce27437299fb2eb8a055ee8cbb6aa0e90633.jpg)
Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains northwest of
Sydney, which have been hit by one of the biggest bushfires that have been ravaging much of Australia for months.
With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop
fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said.