Overview

• Conservationists successfully hand-reared three blue-eyed ground dove chicks this year, raising the captive insurance population to six individuals.
• Just 11 adult blue-eyed ground doves persist in Botumirim’s Cerrado, where habitat loss from agriculture, timber plantations and human-caused fires threaten the survivors.
• A coalition of Chester Zoo, Parque das Aves, SAVE Brasil, Toledo Zoo, Bronx Zoo and the University of São Paulo coordinated egg selection, incubation and round-the-clock care.
• Genetic analysis by the Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Evolution of Birds guides pair formations to safeguard diversity within the emerging captive flock.
• Efforts to maintain and restore native Cerrado habitats aim to support future release of captive-bred doves and bolster the wild population.