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 MEDIA
RELEASE
January 17, 2007
CONTACT:
Debbie Sebree
502-238-5331 (502-744-5639 Media Cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World’s First Captive Hatching
of Rare Dove at the Louisville Zoo
The first white-throated ground dove (Gallicolumba
xanthonura) to hatch in captivity did so at the Louisville Zoo on
October 17, 2006 after an eighteen day incubation. A second dove
hatched on December 1, 2006 and is
also thriving.
While not officially listed as endangered, the
white-throated ground dove is considered a species of concern because it
is rare and has a very small range. There are only 16 of these birds in
captivity. The Louisville Zoo leads the effort to conserve this species
at the request of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Saipan,
Micronesia, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Pigeon and Dove Taxon Advisory Group.
 The
babies, called squabs, are being reared in an off-exhibit area. The
parents have re- occupied the nest which is located in a fig tree (Ficus
benjamina) approximately thirty feet above the floor of the Forest
Bird Trail Exhibit in the Islands Pavilion. Staff views the nest
remotely to monitor the birds’ progress.
The Zoo’s Bird Department staff under the
direction of Curator Gary Michael is currently working with partners at
the Memphis and St. Louis zoos to develop a long-term captive management
protocol for the white-throated ground dove. Michael considers the
hatching of this species the crowning achievement of his career. He
states that “as an aviculturist (one who raises and cares for birds),
there is nothing greater than accomplishing the first breeding and
successful birth of a species in captivity.”
The Louisville Zoo is a long-standing partner
institution in AZA’s Mariana Avian Conservation (MAC) Program. The
twenty-year-old program aims to support local biologists and other
officials in Micronesia in the conservation of their insular avifauna
(island birds).
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