A BIRD species that was extinct in Europe for more than 300 years is to receive a welcome boost, thanks to the efforts of keepers at Chester Zoo who are reintroducing four of the birds back into the wild.
The northern bald ibis has undergone long-term decline and currently sits on the edge of extinction, with 98% of its population lost as a direct result of hunting, habitat loss, pesticide poisoning, disturbance and an increase in construction works around their preferred nesting sites.
The species, once widespread across the Middle East, North Africa and southern and central Europe is now critically endangered with approximately 500 individuals remaining in a small sub-population in Morocco, and a tiny population of only a few birds in Syria.
As part of an international conservation effort to tackle the drastic decline in numbers, reintroduction programmes are being established in Turkey, Austria, Spain and northern Morocco. Chester Zoo has successfully bred four chicks which will be relocated to a dedicated site in Jerez, southern Spain.
On arrival at Jerez Zoo, the four Chester Zoo birds will be introduced to other chicks bred in other European zoos (all affiliated to the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, EAZA) this year.
Lauren Hough, bird keeper at the zoo, explains what the breeding successes means to the team at Chester Zoo: “It’s amazing enough working with these remarkable birds in the zoo, but to be part of a successful reintroduction programme is something extra special.
“We hope that by reintroducing birds into the wild, they will go on to breed and boost the wild population themselves, securing the future of the species.
“The four chicks that hatched here at the zoo have done so well. We weighed them frequently to make sure they were getting enough food from their parents and, depending on what we found, we altered the number of times and the amount we fed the flock throughout the day. It’s a huge achievement to be able to release birds back into the wild and proves just how vital conservation projects can be for species facing huge threats, and possibly extinction.”
Chester Zoo has been home to a safety-net population of Northern bald ibis since 1986 and is currently home to 28 individuals – the oldest being 22 years old and the youngest hatching in May this year. The zoo joined the ibis reintroduction programme in 2007 and has since been working with other conservation organisations across Europe to save the species from extinction in the wild.
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