All three pairs of endangered Madagascar sacred ibises at Houston Zoo raised their own chicks this year
For the first time, all three breeding pairs of endangered Madagascar sacred ibises at Houston Zoo raised their own chicks. The four chicks outnumber all those produced in previous years combined by the AZA population.
All three breeding pairs of Madagascar sacred ibises at Houston Zoo have raised their own chicks this year, a first in the zoo's history, Houston Zoo said on 19 October. Four parent-reared chicks hatched in 2026.
That is more Madagascar sacred ibis chicks than the population in zoos of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) produced in all previous years combined, according to the zoo. With two hand-reared chicks hatched in 2023 and 2024, Houston has now produced six.
An endangered bird with a few thousand left
The Madagascar sacred ibis is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and an estimated 2,300 to 3,000 birds remain in the wild.
Endangered means a very high risk of extinction in the wild under the IUCN Red List; our explainer on the Red List categories sets out what each level means.
Hunting and habitat loss in Madagascar
In the wild, the species lives in western Madagascar and on Aldabra in the Seychelles, according to BirdLife International. It is declining because of hunting and the degradation of its habitat, including coastal mangroves. In parts of Madagascar the drop has been steep: at 21 sites surveyed in 1998 and 1999 and again in 2005 and 2006, numbers fell from 715 birds to 190.
Elsewhere numbers have held up better; the population at Baly Bay increased between 2000 and 2004, and the Aldabra population appears stable, BirdLife says. The species breeds in colonies, often alongside herons, with some sites holding 200 to 250 of its nests.
Ticket money supports work in Madagascar
Houston Zoo supports the Groupe d'étude et de recherche sur les primates de Madagascar (GERP), which protects habitats for endangered animals in Madagascar, including the sacred ibis. A portion of each ticket and membership goes to that work, the zoo said. The release does not say whether any of the chicks will go to other zoos for breeding. More bird stories are collected under birds.
Sources
- Houston Zoo · houstonzoo.org
- datazone.birdlife.org
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