Endangered Southern California Bird Hatches; First Time at Wild Animal Park

June 11, 2007

After a year of calling the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park home, a pair of endangered light-footed clapper rails laid eggs for the first time in the Wild Animal Park’s history, resulting in six chicks. Endemic to Southern California, this species reached a low of 142 pairs in 1984; through the efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Team Clapper Rail,” a group of volunteers, wildlife experts, government agencies, and conservation organizations including the Chula Vista Nature Center and SeaWorld San Diego, there are now more than 400 pairs.

The Wild Animal Park joined Team Clapper Rail in September 2005 when the breeding pair arrived, followed by a second pair that has not yet produced eggs. “The hatching of the light-footed clapper rail chicks mark the fourth endangered bird species the Wild Animal Park has bred, hatched, and later released into the wild,” said Michael Mace, Wild Animal Park curator of birds. “The other species reintroduced to their native habitat include Andean and California condors and Guam rails.”

The Wild Animal Park’s first two chicks hatched June 2. Both chicks and an egg that was ready to hatch were transferred to SeaWorld San Diego’s Avian Center for puppet rearing that same day and were followed by other Wild Animal Park chicks as they hatched. The chicks hatched at the Wild Animal Park and the 10 produced by a breeding pair at the Chula Vista Nature Center are candidates for release in one of 18 Southern California marshes. To date, more than 150 clapper rails have been bred and released into the wild since the inception of Team Clapper Rail.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service selected the Wild Animal Park as its newest partner in the breeding program for this species because of the Park’s experience and success in breeding and rearing other endangered birds species such as the California condor.