Pink Pigeon conservation

Species background

Common name:
Pink Pigeon

Latin name:
Nesoenas mayeri

Endemic to:
Mauritius

IUCN status:
Vulnerable

Distribution:
• Black River Gorges National Park and surrounding areas
• Ile aux Aigrettes (introduced population)
• Bambou range (introduced population)
• Ebony Forest (introduced population)

Threats:
• Habitat destruction
• Food shortages
• Predation from rats, mongooses, feral cats and macaques
• Nest site competitors, e.g., Madagascar Turtle Dove
• Reduced genetic variation and inbreeding depression
• Disease such as Trichomoniasis, circoviruses

Conservation opportunities:
• Establish new sub-populations in areas of high-quality forest
• Improve genetic flow
• Supplementary feeding
• Predator control

Ecology:
Feeds on fruits, seeds, flowers and leaves

The Pink Pigeon is the only endemic pigeon species left in Mauritius. It was once distributed across the whole island but started to decline in the 19th century until only a dozen known individuals were left in the 1990s in a small cryptomeria wood near Piton Savanne. Decades of conservation work by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and the National Parks and Conservation Service has enabled the recovery of the population to over 400 individuals today.

Found mainly in the Black River Gorges National Park, the Pink Pigeon population is at risk due to predation from introduced mammals, diseases, food shortages, disturbance from introduced doves as well as poor genetic diversity. As the birds do not readily disperse, establishing new subpopulations by translocating individuals is an effective way to increase the population size and distribution, thereby reducing their risk of extinction and threat to disease, competition and food shortages.

Project aim

The aim of the project is to create a new Pink Pigeon subpopulation at Ebony Forest to decrease the risk of extinction.

Project impacts

The establishment of a breeding population of Pink Pigeon at Ebony Forest would decrease its extinction risk by
• Expanding its distribution and increasing gene flow
• Increasing the population size
• Maintaining genetic diversity
• Reducing the risk of disease and competition for resources, such as food and shelter, in the Black River Gorges National Park

Additional benefits are:
• Building local capacity
• Restoring missing seed dispersal interactions, thereby aiding in the restoration of the forest and climate change adaptation
• Raising awareness

This project contributes to the IUCN/SSC Action points and is in line with the Government’s policies and objectives as defined in the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.

Between 2018 and 2019, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation released 50 juveniles from the Black River Gorges National Park to Ebony Forest.

Once acclimated, the translocated birds were released and left to establish their territory at Ebony Forest.

Since 2019, the Ebony Forest team has been managing this population by providing supplementary feeding, controlling their predators (rats, feral cats and mongooses), monitoring the population, ringing juveniles and maintaining their aviaries and hoppers.

Estelle

Elisa S.

Laeticia

Denis

Christelle

Ophelie

Emmanuel