Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust works to save some of the world’s most threatened species, in the most threatened places on earth. Many of these species are now on the road to recovery, thanks to a pioneering approach that combines long term field projects, training conservationists, empowering local communities and specialised captive husbandry and breeding. As many of the world’s island nations combine high levels of endemism (species not found elsewhere) along with delicately balanced food-chains and eco-systems, the animals and plants found on them can often find pressures on their biodiversity more concentrated, and consequently, their flora and fauna at the greatest risk of extinction.

Undoubtedly one of the most unique regions in the world, and containing many equally unique and iconic species, the Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic outcrops distributed around the Equator, 972 km off the coast of Ecuador. The songbirds and mockingbirds of the Galapagos played an important role in Charles Darwin’s development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

The mockingbirds of the Galapagos are thought to have been the key inspiration for Darwin’s theory. There are four types of mockingbird: Española, Galapagos, San Cristobal and the Floreana mockingbird. Sadly, the Floreana mockingbird is now one of the rarest birds in the world. Once common across the whole region, sadly, the Floreana mockingbird is no longer found on its namesake island of Floreana, and currently only exists in tiny populations on the tiny islets of Champion and Gardner. It has been designated as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and populations are estimated at 300 on Gardner, and a dangerously low 63 individual birds on Champion. Clearly, this species is in need of intervention, before it becomes merely an entry in records of the region’s natural history.

Introduced herbivore species, such as donkeys and goats, make short work of the Floreana mockingbird’s favoured nesting and food source, the prickly pear cactus. The added pressure of ‘alien’ predatory species such as rats and cats, which the birds have evolved no natural defences to avoid, continue to contribute to the risk of extinction for the birds.

Since 2007 the Galapagos Conservation Trust and Durrell have been working in collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Service to save the Floreana mockingbird, with the aim of reintroducing the bird to Floreana Island. This is ultimately the only hope for the survival of this species, as the two tiny islets that make up its only present habitat are too small to support viable populations. A key stage towards reintroduction will be restoring the island to ensure that sufficient native habitat is in place for the mockingbirds. This will be achieved by reducing the number of introduced species, strengthening strict quarantine rules and also supplementation of cactus forests as a key feeding and nesting resource.

You can read more at www.durrell.org/appeal and www.darwinssongbirds.com