Rare and Endangered Pink Pigeon Successfully Bred at UK Zoo

The hand-rearing of a rare pigeon of an unusual color, in an English zoo for the first time, is a ray of hope for this endangered species from Mauritius.

A rare pink pigeon bred in an English zoo, a first

Paignton Zoo, in the Devon region of southern England, announced that it had successfully hand-reared a pink-colored pigeon, a rare species given the decline in its population. Supported by the ornithological team, this species, native to Mauritius, is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

To enable the success of this breeding, Tom Tooley, one of the zoo's bird keepers, used a technique of his own. Indeed, its mode of operation was to position a catheter to a syringe which can be gently placed on the tongue of a baby bird during feeding.

The rare pigeon species endemic to Mauritius is threatened

The pink pigeon, Nesoenas mayeri from its Latin name, is a species of birds from Mauritius. This bird, which is part of the Columbidae family, has the particularity of having pink skin.

This species is considered endangered on the IUCN list of threatened species. The causes are, as with most endangered species, loss of habitat, lack of resources or even predation. According to the wildlife organization Birdlife, the global population of pink pigeons numbered nine in 1991.

The Mauritius pigeon, in the list of pink animals

In the animal kingdom, pink-colored animals like the Nesoenas mayeri, are rare, although some are very well known. We obviously think of Phoenicopterus roseusmore commonly called “Pink Flamingo”, which is the representative of pink-colored fauna. There is also the Pig which is for most of its species pink in color.

More surprising, the pink iguana. This endemic species of the Galapagos Islands is considered, like the pink pigeon, in danger of extinction by the IUCN.

The orchid mantis, or Hymenopus coronatus in Latin, is part of the flower mantis, so called for their resemblance to angiosperms and their vegetative behavior, useful for insect predation. Found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, it is distinguished by its magnificent pink and white color.

source: BBC