Paignton Zoo hand-rears rare pink pigeon in 'fantastic year' for endangered birds

Zookeepers in Devon have successfully hand-reared a rare pink pigeon squab for the first time.

Pink pigeons come from Mauritius and are on the red list for both the IUCN and BirdLife. Once on the brink of extinction, their wild numbers were thought to have been as low as nine in 1991.

Paignton zookeeper Tom Tooley and his colleagues have significantly boosted their population.

Tom, who has worked as a bird keeper for more than 27 years, developed an innovative technique for hand-rearing the baby birds – also known as squabs - that have been abandoned or orphaned by their parents.

He has now been teaching this unique hand-rearing method to others for a number of years.

Tom said: “Instead of using conventional crop tubing, I developed a method which involves attaching a carefully sized catheter to a syringe which can be gently placed on the squab’s tongue.

"This approach allows the squabs to naturally consume the hand-rearing formula, eliminating the need for crop tubing, which can be stressful and harmful to the birds."

Pink pigeons are part of a European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), a breeding programme established to maintain healthy captive populations and safeguard genetic diversity.

The goal is to ensure the long-term survival of threatened species through collaboration among zoos and organisations, such as the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF).

Tom’s work includes training MWF staff in his special hand-rearing technique to increase the chances of pink pigeon squab survival.

Stephen Kings, Chief Executive Officer for Wild Planet Trust, commented: “It’s been a fantastic year for our bird breeding programmes.

"Tom’s skilled approach to hand-rearing this squab, along with the collaborative efforts of our dedicated bird team, is yet another testament to our zoo-based expertise in wildlife conservation."