Endangered Species to be Bred at UK Zoo
A Sun Conure © M Stafford
From the Norwich Evening News in the UK, we hear that the latest arrivals at the city’s Banham Zoo are not only brilliantly colourful, but they are also an endangered species.
Two Sun Conures (Aratinga solstitialis) arrived at Banham Zoo in June, to the delight of the staff, who were under the impression that the species is quite common in its native Guyana, in South America. Since then, however, the Conures have been officially labelled endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), and it is thought that there might be only one flock of 200 birds remaining in the wild in Guyana.
Illegal trapping for the lucrative pet market is, unsurprisingly, the reason for the dwindling numbers of these lovely birds, so Banham Zoo has taken steps to increase the number of Sun Conures at the zoo to established an official breeding programme to help prevent the species from becoming extinct.
“The news came as a real surprise,” said Banham’s animal manager, Mike Woolham, “as there had been no indication that the species was in such trouble. Banham Zoo has held Sun Conures for a number of years now and we have had considerable breeding success which I am sure we will be able to achieve again.”
The two Conures received this summer came from a specialist parrot zoo in Lincolnshire, and joined an existing pair at Banham. It is hoped that the group of four will soon have a lot more company, since another 10 are expected to arrive soon, which will form the basis of a breeding group to increase numbers of the species.
The parrots can be seen in the Bird Garden at Banham Zoo.
