Calgary, AB, Canada / News Talk 770 (CHQR)
June 10, 2014 11:28 am
Good news today for one of Canada’s most endangered birds. Eleven greater sage-grouse eggs, collected from the wild have hatched successfully and are being raised at the Calgary Zoo.
Zoo officials say this is the first step toward establishing a captive population of the bird to ultimately save it from extinction.
The eggs were gathered in southeast Alberta where the greater sage-grouse is known to nest. A single egg was collected May 9, and 12 eggs were collected from a single nest May 15th. Of the 13 eggs, 11 chicks survived.
The chicks will eventually be transferred to the zoo’s Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre.
It’s believed there are fewer than 138 of the birds remains in Canada. Earlier this year the federal government issued an emergency order under Canada’s Species at Risk Act to prevent the bird’s extinction.The decision to start a captive breeding program at the Calgary Zoo was made at a symposium in January.
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