Rare Guam Rail bird labelled 'extinct in the wild' revived after 40 years

After 40 years of being almost extinct in the wild, the species of Guam Rail has been revived by the conservationists. The flightless birds were almost driven to complete extinction after brown snakes were unintentionally introduced to its home. The island of Gaum is located in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Australia. 

The threat dates back to World War II

According to international media, the threat to the Rail's existence dates back to World War Two, when Guam was occupied by Japanese forces. Days after the US troops liberated the island brown snakes, who might have snuck in the US ship started to kill the bird reducing their number to minimal. At their lowest point, only 21 birds were left in the wild. The snakes feasted on feathered creatures wiping out 10 of the 12 species of native forest birds. The seemingly insatiable snakes led to researchers stepping in to rescue the rail, with conservationists rescuing the 21 birds that were left in 1981.

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The flightless birds which are typically about 30cm long, dull brown in colour and adorned with black and white stripes were classified as ‘Extinct in the wild’ by the international union for the conservation of nature. After which a breeding programme was introduced by the conservationists and around 200 Guam rails are currently living the snake-free island of Rota. The strategy wasn’t successful at first as the birds would end up getting killed by some other animal or were too far apart to breed but with the fine-tuning breeding process, their numbers have significantly increased in the recent years. 

Guam rail is the latest addition to the success story in the recent history of conservation. According to the experts, the bird which went extinct in 1987 is one amongst the seven species who have revived. According to the IUCN Red List which is the red list of threatened species, ten species have observed revival while 73 species have seen a decline. 

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