Home / Environment / Extinct Dove Hatches at Whipsnade Zoo, Boosting Conservation Efforts
Extinct Dove Hatches at Whipsnade Zoo, Boosting Conservation Efforts
28 Sep, 2025
Summary
- Extinct-in-the-wild dove hatches at Whipsnade Zoo
- Part of international conservation breeding program
- Chick is a step towards reintroducing species to native habitat
On 2025-09-29T10:23:04+00:00, a remarkable conservation achievement was reported as an extinct-in-the-wild dove hatched at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England. The chick, a Socorro dove, emerged from its egg in late August, marking a significant milestone in the international effort to protect this rare species.
The Socorro dove was declared extinct in the wild in 1972 due to severe habitat loss caused by deforestation on its native Socorro Island, off the coast of Mexico. However, a dedicated conservation breeding program has been working to boost the population, with the ultimate goal of reintroducing the birds to their natural habitat.
Whipsnade Zoo's curator of birds, Gary Ward, expressed the incredible significance of this event, stating that the chick's hatching is "a step forward for the survival of a species that would have otherwise been lost forever." The zoo is one of fewer than 50 conservation institutions worldwide caring for the approximately 209 Socorro doves currently in human care.
The Whipsnade chick is the first to hatch at the zoo, while nine others have been born at its sister site, London Zoo. Together, the chicks living across the two zoos are believed to account for almost 5% of the entire global population of the species.
