Zoo’s chick brings hope for rare dove
AN extremely rare Mexican dove that has been extinct in the wild for more than 40 years has hatched at Edinburgh Zoo.
The arrival of the Socorro dove chick is said to be especially significant as there are fewer than 100 pure-bred individuals of the species left in the world.
Conservation charity the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs the zoo, said it has successfully bred the species for 10 years and raised 12 chicks to date as part of the overarching European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).
Edinburgh Zoo and Paignton Zoo have collectively sent 12 Socorro doves to Albuquerque Zoo in the United States to form a satellite breeding group among North American collections.
Several birds were then transferred from there to Africam Safari in Pueblo, Mexico, in 2013, and the following year saw the first Socorro dove chicks hatched in Mexico for almost 40 years.
The hope is that these birds will provide offspring to be reintroduced to their native habitat on the island of Socorro, Mexico, in the near future.
Colin Oulton, of RZSS, said: “The hatching of this bird highlights the significant role zoos play in conserving species and helping to increase population numbers of rare animals.
“Due to coordinated breeding programmes with zoos across the world, this species has been saved and we are able to increase the numbers and hopefully reintroduce them back into their native habitat.”