The Socorro
birds completely vanished from their native land 47 years ago
By Jessica Sansome
12:04, 7
JAN 2019
UPDATED12:10,
7 JAN 2019
Chester
Zoo have welcomed two new additions - and there are just 23 of them existing in
the UK.
A couple
of rare Socorro doves hatched on November 7 and were raised by 'foster parents,
a pair of barbary doves.
The
birds, which originate from Socorro Island located 400 miles off the west coast
of Mexico, are listed as extinct in the wild with fewer than 200 existing in
human care in zoos around the world.
The
Socorro birds completely vanished from their native land 47 years ago and
declared extinct in the wild in 1972.
It is
thought that the introduction of sheep that ate the plants the doves depended
on to survive as well as invasive species such as cats that preyed upon the
bird, are behind their demise.
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