Leonardo DiCaprio hails Chester Zoo for 'bringing rare fish species back from the dead'

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has hailed Chester Zoo for "bringing a rare fish species back from the dead".

It is after experts from the zoo, alongside their conservation partners, helped to resurrect the golden skiffia fish from extinction during this year's Day of the Dead in Mexico.

The team released more than 1,000 fish back into the wild in the Teuchitlan River - a place where the species hadn't been seen since the 1990s.

The group of golden skiffia had been successfully bred by aquarists who created a conservation breeding programme that prevented the fish from becoming globally extinct.

The reintroduction of the fish coincided with Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations – where families honour their departed ancestors and welcome them back from the dead.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio's Instagram page has posted about the project.

The post said: "This year’s Day of the Dead celebrations included a unique ‘resurrection’ in Jalisco, Mexico, where conservationists released more than 1,000 Golden Skiffia into the fish’s native range in the Teuchitlán River.

"The freshwater fish had not been documented in the wild since the late 1990s. The events, in the midst of Mexico’s DayoftheDead celebrations, included formal speeches, traditional dances and the official release of the fish.

"Bringing the species back from the ‘dead’ is the result of collaborative conservation work between Michoacan University of Mexico, @chesterzoo, the Goodeid Working Group and @Shoal_Org (a program of @Rewild and @synchearth)."

Chester Zoo commented on the post to thank DiCaprio for sharing the story.

Omar Domínguez-Domínguez, a professor and researcher from the Michoacan University of Mexico, who is leading the golden skiffia reintroduction, said:

"The Day of the Dead is a traditional Mexican celebration, when it is believed that people’s deceased ancestors return to the land of the living for one night, to talk and spend time with their families.

"Releasing the golden skiffia at this time is a metaphor for how the species has come back from the dead to return to its home, not for one night, but forever.

“Releasing this species back into the wild is a light of hope for this wonderful family of fishes - the goodeids - and for the conservation of freshwater fish more generally.

"Knowing that universities, zoos and aquarists can come together to fix some of what has been destroyed and return to nature some of what has been lost is an amazing thing."

Paul Bamford, Regional Programme Manager for Latin America at Chester Zoo, added: "This project is a great example of how zoos can contribute to conservation in the field through conservation breeding and research, utilising the skills and experience that have been developed in zoos to help strengthen existing and new wild populations.

"By supporting freshwater conservation in Mexico and the ecosystems where the fish live, we’re not only protecting biodiversity and the wellbeing of freshwater environments, but also the people and communities that live alongside them.

"The golden skiffia release comes just a few years after the successful reintroduction of the tequila splitfin, which faced very similar threats."

In preparation for the species return to the wild, the fish were first placed in ponds, so they could begin to adapt to different conditions.

The fish were then taken to floating pods in the river known as Mesocosms where they live for at least a month, so that they can further adapt to natural conditions before release.

Individuals released into the wild were tagged and will be monitored for the next five years to monitor whether the population is increasing.

Chester Zoo said conservation says this is vital to ensuring extinctions are halted and populations are given the best possible chances of bouncing back from the brink.