The rarest bird in the world, considered extinct for 15 years, returns to the wild

The rarest bird in the world, the Madagascar Tufted Duck (Aythya innotata Salvadori) was reintroduced into the wild, near Lake Sofia, after being deemed extinct and after a thorough WWT repopulation plan.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

For 15 years it had been considered extinct, then in 2006 the extraordinary discovery of some specimens that were included in the WWT to favor their reproduction and today, finally, the Aythya innotata, which we can consider the rarest bird in the world, returns to nature .

Also known as "Madagascar duck" (Madagascar Pochard), this very rare species of diving duck, exterminated above all by pollution and bad agricultural practices, is currently included in the IUCN red list which counts from 20 to 49 specimens in the world. And 21 of them, just in these days, have been released and reintroduced near Lake Sofia, north of Madacascar. It was precisely the IUCN starting from 1991 and up to 2006, the year of the discovery of 9 adults and 4 ducklings, to classify this duck of the genus Aythya as "probably extinct". For years, in fact, intensive research and advertising campaigns were held in an attempt to spot at least one of these birds, but all failed.

The rarest bird in the world, considered extinct for 15 years, returns to the wild

The only male encountered was captured and raised in the Antananarivo Botanical Gardens, but died after just one year of captivity.

It is therefore easy to understand the exceptional nature of the news of these 21 birds released by the international team of researchers of the organization The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust which for 12 years has been involved in their recovery, saving the eggs and raising the chicks in order to to bring back to life the species destroyed by human activity.

The reintroduction into the wild was facilitated by two floating aviaries built in Great Britain to facilitate their adaptation to the new environment. And, according to what was reported by the conservationists of the WWT, the operation was perfectly successful and the ducks swam and flew as well as "made friends with other wild ducks and returned to the aviaries to feed".

But why did these birds that proliferated in all the wetlands of Madagascar in the XNUMXs come to this point?

When the last specimens of Madagascar ducklings left on the planet were found in 2006 they were living in what was the last pristine wetland in the country, but like Rob Shaw, head of conservation programs at Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) explained, they were just "clinging to existence in a place not quite suitable for them" as it was too deep and too cold for these ducks to thrive.

"The threats they face in the rest of Madagascar - and why they have been wiped out so extensively - are enormous," explained Rob Shaw. "It ranges from sedimentation, to invasive species, to pollution, to poor agricultural practices - a whole series of problems that create the perfect storm that makes it very difficult for a species like the Madagascar pochard to survive."

Nigel Jarrett, head of WWT breeding in Madagascar, explained:

It takes a village to raise a child, so goes the old African proverb, but in this case it took a village to raise a duck. We have been preparing for this moment for over a decade ».

The team identified the best site to release the birds after a careful survey of the area, working closely with local communities around Lake Sofia that rely on water, fish and plants:

"Working with local communities to solve the problems that were driving this bird's extinction was essential to giving the pochard a chance for survival."

The team now hopes that the success of this reintroduction that has brought back to life an excel on the brink of extinction will serve as a powerful example not only to save other threatened species, but more importantly to demonstrate how communities can support both people and wildlife. wild and that man can share without destroying these precious habitats, even in significant areas of poverty.