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Guam Kingfisher Conservation

Extinct in the wild

Driven nearly to extinction by the invasive brown tree snake that was introduced to Guam, a small remaining population of Guam kingfishers is found only in zoos and conservation facilities working to save this species from extinction.

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Saving Species

Between 1984 and 1986, in an effort to save this species from extinction, the Guam Bird Rescue Project collected and transferred 29 Guam kingfishers to Philadelphia Zoo for quarantine and then distributed to other zoos in the US as part of a species survival breeding program.

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At the Zoo

Since the inception of the species survival breeding program, Philadelphia Zoo has hatched and reared dozens of Guam kingfishers to establish a stable group of individuals in the hopes of one day re-introducing birds to the wild.