Successfully hatching the extremely endangered spoonbill species

Two healthy spoonbill babies born at Slimbridge Nature Reserve offer an opportunity to save the world's rarest amphibious bird.

After eight years of trying to breed the spoonbill in captivity, conservationists from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) have finally reaped the benefits of successfully hatching two healthy young offspring. Nigel Jarrett from WWT emphasized this was "a major breakthrough".

A pair of spoonbills are kept in Slimbridge Nature Reserve.(Photo: Times).

The number of spoonbills is decreasing by an average of 25% per year and currently only about 200 pairs of wild adults are able to reproduce. In order to save this rare wading bird from extinction, WWT established a captive farm in the Slimbridge sanctuary in Gloucestershire, England in 2011. Since then, 12 eggs have been born but cannot successful propagation (only 5 fruits were hatched but no young survived).

"We are delighted that the two new offspring both survived and seem to adapt well to their habitat in Gloucestershire," Jarrett said. "They are growing young hair and growing rapidly."

In the wild, the spoonbill is described as having "extreme" reproductive behavior when migrating up to 8,000km per year from warm tropical regions of Asia to adjacent coasts and inland areas for sale. Chukchi and Kamchatka islands near the North Pole to nest and lay eggs. Conservationists say they have used a lot of sea sand, special light bulbs and timer switches to simulate their natural habitat.

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