Return of the Rails

Today, I figured that we would end 2019 on a sweet note, and no news that I've heard this year has been sweeter than this.  At the beginning of this year, the IUCN had a single species on its list of birds which had gone Extinct in the Wild and then restored to their natural habitat in sufficient numbers to be downgraded.  Now, there are two.

The Guam rail was extinct in the wild for nearly 40 years.  Now it's back.

The Guam rail story has been a decades-long saga of government officials, biologists, nonprofits, and zoo professionals working together to restore a very special bird to the forests from which it was extirpated (learn more here).  It's not out of danger yet, but it does provide a beacon of hope, both for its own future and for that of other endangered species.  With any luck, we'll be growing that list some more in the future.  In the meantime, it's a great reminder of what zoos and aquariums matter, and why we do what we do.


Happy New Year!