![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/49cf7e59-de70-46ff-9c71-201051df047a.jpg\")
There are approximately 180 Socorro doves left in the world (ZSL London Zoo\/PA)<\/p>\nThe trio, who emerged from their eggs in late March, were born to two pairs of parents, who each arrived at the zoo in late 2024.<\/p>\n
It is part of an international breeding programme which aims to boost numbers of the birds so that they can be reintroduced to their native habitat on Socorro Island, off the coast of Mexico, by 2030.<\/p>\n
There are approximately 180 Socorro doves left in the world (ZSL London Zoo\/PA)<\/p>\n
There are only approximately 180 Socorro doves left in the world, cared for by fewer than 50 conservation institutions.<\/p>\n
The arrival of three new chicks at London Zoo marks a 2% boost to the species\u2019 entire global population.<\/p>\n
Gary Ward, London Zoo\u2019s curator of birds, said: \u201cThe hatching of three Socorro dove chicks at London Zoo is a big step forward in our role to bring this species back from the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter importing some doves from Portugal\u2019s Lagos Zoo at the end of last year, as part of the co-ordinated breeding programme, it\u2019s fantastic to now see them successfully pairing with doves bred here at London Zoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a hopeful sign that a healthy Socorro dove population will return to their native island home one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Socorro doves were once found in the dense woodlands of Socorro Island, but by the early 1970s their numbers had been decimated due to habitat loss caused by deforestation and the introduction of non-native predators.<\/p>\n
Feral sheep, introduced in the late 1800s, had stripped the island of vegetation, destroying vital nesting sites.<\/p>\n
Today, just 181 individuals remain in human care worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach successful hatch is a major step forward for the Socorro Dove Project,\u201d said Mr Ward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocorro doves have been extinct in the wild since 1972, surviving only thanks to carefully managed breeding programmes across Europe and North America.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is from these programmes that we hope to see the species returned to its native island in the not-too-distant future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian Walls, team leader for tropical birds at London Zoo, said: \u201cThe chicks are doing well and growing so quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kept a close eye on the nest and saw some really promising behaviours from the new family, with both parents feeding and brooding their young \u2013 key indicators of a strong bond.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the chicks continue to develop, their dusty brown feathers will gradually shift into the rich cinnamon tones of adult Socorro doves, complete with incredible iridescent pink and blue feathers on the nape of their necks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting to have these three very special eggs, from an extinct-in-the-wild species, hatch here at the zoo \u2013 and just in time for Easter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to see the chicks grow from strength to strength this spring.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The trio, who emerged from their eggs in late March, were born to two pairs of parents, who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-29313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114357071051554325","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}