Endangered bird species lays eggs in the wild, the 1st in almost 40 years
Siheks, endangered bird species, lay 1st eggs in the wild in decades
The nine young Siheks had been hand-reared by zookeepers and returned to the wild at The Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra Atoll Preserve. (Credit: London Zoo/Zoological Society of London via Storyful)
An endangered bird species recently released back into the wild has laid its first eggs out of captivity in almost 40 years, according to The Nature Conservancy.
Siheks, also known as the Guam Kingfisher, that were hand-reared by zookeepers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), were returned to The Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra Atoll Preserve in September 2024. Since their release, three of the four pairs have laid eggs.
What are Siheks?
The backstory:
Siheks are birds native to Guam, according to ZSL.
The species was almost decimated by an invasive snake species known as the brown tree snake. These snakes came to Guam in the 1940s on shipping containers.
Siheks were extinct in the wild for nearly 30 years until 2024 when researchers reintroduced nine Sihek birds to the wild. Once researchers feel the birds are ready, they will be returned to their original home of Guam.
FILE - Sihek, endangered bird species. (Credit: London Zoo/Zoological Society of London via Storyful)
What they're saying:
"We’re delighted that all nine of the birds are not only surviving on Palmyra Atoll, they’re already starting the next stage of their journey as we work to reestablish a thriving and fully self-sustaining Sihek population in the wild," says Dr. Caitlin Andrews, Bird Conservation Scientist with TNC’s Island Resilience Strategy and ZSL (Zoological Society of London).
More Siheks to be released
What's next:
More Siheks will be released at Palmyra Atoll this summer, according to the conservancy.
The goal is to establish 10 breeding pairs to help grow the wild Sihek population.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a news release from The Nature Conservancy, the Zoological Society of London and Storyful. This story was reported from Los Angeles.