Re-Introduction of the Socorro dove, Socorro Island, Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico

Summary

The Socorro dove (Zenaida graysoni), extinct in the wild on Mexico's Socorro Island since the mid-1970s, coinciding with naval airstrip construction, survives only through descendants exported to California in 1925 and later bred in the US and Europe; American captive stock became compromised by hybridization with mourning doves, leaving European Endangered Species Breeding Program birds, coordinated by Frankfurt Zoo across 21 institutions with roughly 100 doves, as the best-preserved bloodline after DNA fingerprinting confirmed their genetic purity. Because a 2005 European avian influenza outbreak led Mexico to ban bird imports from Europe, the plan was restructured to first expand the captive population in the United States, importing 12 doves from Paignton and Edinburgh Zoos to the Albuquerque Zoo in 2008, where they have bred successfully and been distributed to other US zoos, ahead of eventual transfer to Mexican zoos and Socorro Island itself. In parallel, in situ groundwork has proceeded since the 1990s: the Mexican Navy eradicated introduced rock doves by 1994 to remove a disease-transmission risk, an ongoing program targets introduced sheep to protect native habitat, historical range and restoration needs have been documented, and a Breeding Station on Socorro Island was completed in 2004, awaiting doves and a still-unbuilt release station. Major difficulties included Mexico's six-year presidential cycle disrupting long-term continuity and coordination gaps with the Ministry of Agriculture over avian influenza risk. The project rates itself Partially Successful, since actual return of doves to the wild cannot proceed until the Mexican government guarantees continuous island access for captive breeding, release and monitoring.