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Zoo News
On a Wing and a Prayer
Edinburgh Zoo has joined forces with Paignton Zoo in Devon and zoos abroad in a bid to save a bird that has been extinct in the wild for 30 years. The Socorro dove, which originates from Socorro Island off the coast of Mexico, became extinct in the 1970’s as a result of human disturbance and habitat loss. Fortunately, several were held in private collections and breeding pairs were formed to sustain the population. Edinburgh Zoo became involved in the breeding programme for the dove in 2005, successfully producing 11 chicks to date.
In the next stage of the reintroduction, five birds from Edinburgh Zoo and seven birds from Paignton Zoo in Devon were flown to California in October and have now been transferred to Albuquerque Zoo in New Mexico. The birds will form a satellite population outside Europe and free up space in European collections to allow for continued breeding. Their offspring could be the first Socorro doves to be seen on their ancestral home.
Edinburgh Zoo’s Head Bird Keeper Colin Oulton said:
“The Socorro Dove Project demonstrates how the zoo world and conservation community can work
closely with each other to bring species back from the brink of extinction. It’s further evidence
of the increasing role that zoos like Edinburgh and Paignton can play in saving species from
disappearing off the face of the planet. The glimmer of hope held by all involved in the Socorro
Dove Project is that this little brown dove will once again be found on its ancestral island, and
that glimmer just got a bit brighter.”
Although the experience has been extremely rewarding, breeding these birds was far from easy,
Colin explains:
“Breeding Socorro doves can be tricky as the males are notoriously aggressive in their
pursuit of mates. We conducted trial pairings to establish the most compatible pairs and the
breeding success at Edinburgh Zoo is evidence of the skill and expertise our Zoo staff invest in
their animals”.
Paignton Zoo Curator of Birds Jo Gregson said:
“This project shows how conservationists around the world work together. It’s important that
we try to save every single threatened species, not just the well-known charismatic ones. Every
species has the right to survive.”
Stefan Stadler, the European Endangered Species Co-ordinator for the Socorro dove, said:
“We are thrilled that decades of caring for this species are soon going to result in its
return to the wild.”
In preparation for the return of the dove, the Mexican Navy, US conservation organisation Island Endemics (and its Mexican counterpart Endémicos Insulares) have built a breeding station on Socorro Island. It is hoped the return of the dove will mark a turn in the island's ecological fortunes. Several other species are endangered, including the Socorro mockingbird, which number fewer than 400, the Socorro parakeet and Townsend's shearwater.
Ends
Editor’s Notes
- The Socorro dove (Zenaida graysoni) was endemic to Socorro Island. The last sighting of this pretty, pink-necked dove on the island was in 1972; it was declared extinct in the wild in the early 1980s.
- The uninhabited island was discovered in the 16th century by Spanish explorers, but the dove was first described by a 19th-century American naturalist, Andrew Jackson Grayson.
- The bird was once common across the island, but fell victim to sheep grazing and human disturbance. In 1957 the Mexican navy set up a base on the island.
- The species was saved from extinction mainly by collections in the UK and Germany.
- A successful international captive breeding programme in top zoos has been organised by the European Endangered species Programme coordinator Stefan Stadler, based at Frankfurt Zoo.
- Edinburgh Zoo first received Socorro doves in early 2005, hatching their first chick in December that year. The doves have since produced a further 13 youngsters to 3 adult pairs.
- Paignton Zoo has been keeping Socorro doves since 2002. The first chicks hatched in 2003.
- There are thought to be no more than 100 purebred Socorro doves in existence, all of them until now in collections in Europe.
- Edinburgh Zoo is owned by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, a registered charity, charity no SC004064.
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