Zoo hatches rare bird once extinct

Zookeepers celebrated their own Christmas miracle after two chicks belonging to a species that went extinct 50 years ago hatched. The pair adds to Chester Zoo’s small flock of Socorro Doves, which cats hunted to extinction in the wild. Only 200 Socorro doves are alive today, 23 of which are in the UK – and their only means of survival is in the safety of captivity. The doves, declared extinct in the wild almost 47 years ago, are named after the Mexican island they originate from – Socorro Island.