3 blue-eyed ground dove chicks mark a significant turning point in worldwide preservation effort assisted in part by the Toledo Zoo
TOLEDO, Ohio, June 18, 2025/ PRNewswire/– In a substantial development for international bird preservation, 3 blue-eyed ground dove chicks– members of among the world’s rarest bird types– have actually effectively hatched in Brazil The occasion is a significant advance for the worldwide effort to conserve the types and shows years of preparation, training and cooperation, with the Toledo Zoo playing a vital management function.
After 75 years, the blue-eyed ground dove ( Columbina cyanopis) was discovered in 2015 in Brazil’s Cerrado biome. The most current count revealed that 11 adult people stay in the wild. In action, a worldwide network of partners formed to safeguard and recuperate the types through the production of a handled population under human care.
Partners consist of Parque das Aves, SAVE Brasil (BirdLife International in Brazil), Chester Zoo in the UK, Bronx Zoo and the Toledo Zoo, whose contributions were essential to the success of the current hatchings.
Toledo Zoo’s function: leading with know-how
Joe Wood, supervisor of worldwide preservation programs at the Toledo Zoo and co-chair of the IUCN SSC Pigeon and Dove Expert Group, established the effective hand-rearing procedure that added to the present accomplishment. In 2019, Wood signed up with early field efforts in Brazil and, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, produced an aviary in Australia to check and fine-tune synthetic incubation strategies for little dove types.
” Our group at the Toledo Zoo supplied assistance and technical management that assisted make this success possible,” Wood stated. “The hatching of these chicks provides us hope that the types still has an opportunity, and it reveals what’s possible when worldwide partners come together with the right tools and know-how.”
Wood was supported by the Toledo Zoo’s bird department, whose experience hand-rearing fruit doves assisted form the structure for the strategies utilized with blue-eyed ground doves.
” The Toledo Zoo bird personnel is delighted to provide their know-how to this task,” stated Staci Bekker, location supervisor of the bird department at the Toledo Zoo. “Our group established an effective hand-rearing procedure for fruit doves, which assisted form the strategies now utilized with blue-eyed ground doves. It’s rewarding to see our operate in Toledo straight support efforts to conserve this extremely threatened types.”
In 2023, Wood went back to Brazil to help straight with the very first effective effort to hand-rear blue-eyed ground doves. Ever since, the Brazilian group has actually continued using and improving his techniques with growing success. This year’s 3 chicks bring the handled population to 6 people now under the care of Parque das Aves.
A global effort with regional roots
While the Toledo Zoo and other worldwide partners have actually supplied tactical assistance, Brazilian organizations have actually led field-based preservation. Conserve Brasil and Parque das Aves have actually managed nest tracking, environment defense and neighborhood outreach around Botumirim, where the wild population continues.
The hatchlings originated from eggs thoroughly gathered from wild nests early in the reproducing season. The objective is to decrease disturbance in the wild while optimizing survival rates through synthetic incubation. The young doves are not on show and tell and will reach reproducing age in 2026.
” This is science-based preservation at its finest,” Wood stated. “It has to do with integrating field understanding, genes, animal care and worldwide cooperation to offer this types a future.”
More information about this preservation task, consisting of videos and images, can be accessed here
Discover More about the Toledo Zoo’s international wildlife preservation at toledozoo.org/mission
About partners in the Blue-eyed Ground Dove task
The complete list of partners and organisations supporting the task is as follows:
CONSERVE Brasil (BirdLife International in Brazil), Parque das Aves, Toledo Zoo, Chester Zoo, Bronx Zoo, The National Centre for Bird Preservation (CEMAVE), of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Preservation (ICMBio), the Centre for Types Survival Brazil, part of the Types Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Preservation of Nature (IUCN), Instituto Claravis, the Grande Sertão Institute, BirdLife International, the Town of Botumirim, the Minas Gerais State Forestry Institute (IEF), Durrell Wildlife, Vogelpark Marlow, the University of Brasília, Lab of Genes and Molecular Advancement of Birds (LGEMA) and Luiz de Queiroz College of Farming at the University of São Paulo. Financial backing is supplied by the American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International Types Champ – Bruce Peterjohn, the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, the Mohamed bin Zayed Types Preservation Fund, Keidanren Nature Preservation Fund/BirdLife International Tokyo and Neotropical Birding and Preservation.
About the Toledo Zoo
The Toledo Zoo & & Fish tank, positioned in Toledo, Ohio, happily holds subscription worldwide Association of Zoos and Aquariums and accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Boasting a varied collection, the Toledo Zoo & & Fish tank is home to more than 16,000 specific animals covering 680+ types. Actively taken part in preservation efforts, the Zoo takes part in over 80 types survival programs. With a robust neighborhood of over 78,000 active subscription families, the Toledo Zoo & & Fish tank invites about 1.1 million visitors each year.
About “Honoring our past. Imagining our future.”
” Honoring our past. Imagining our future.” is the 125th-anniversary project for the Toledo Zoo, honoring 125 years of preservation, education and neighborhood connection. Considering that its beginning in 1900, the Toledo Zoo has actually grown from a modest collection of animals into a world-renowned zoological organization.
Throughout the 2025 fiscal year, the Toledo Zoo will host a series of unique occasions, displays, and programs to honor this impressive turning point. These events will highlight the Zoo’s historical accomplishments, continuous preservation efforts and enthusiastic prepare for the future. Visitors can eagerly anticipate engaging experiences that link them to the Zoo’s objective of motivating individuals to appreciate wildlife and natural surroundings.
Join us in 2025 to commemorate this remarkable turning point and assistance form the next chapter of the Toledo Zoo’s unbelievable tradition.
Contact:
Madeline Remley
Director of Marketing Communications
419-385-5721, ext. 3168
madeline.remley@toledozoo.org
SOURCE Toledo Zoo