San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike Captive Breeding Facilities- AB and AH

 endangered species habitat  Add category

Arizone Holding and Arizone Breeding cage complexes

Since 1991, the Zoological Society of San Diego (ZSSD) has been involved in the recovery of the San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus mearnsi), one of the most endangered passerines in North America. This shrike is found only on U.S. Navy-owned San Clemente Island, the southernmost island of California’s Channel Islands, and an essential training base for the U.S. military. The bird was federally listed as endangered in 1977, and surveys in the mid-1980s found that as few as five breeding pairs remained. In 1990, the Navy approached the ZSSD to develop a captive breeding program to provide a reservoir of genetic material, a hedge against catastrophic events, and a source of animals for release to augment the wild population.

At present the program involves a full-time staff of seven members of the Applied Animal Ecology Division of CRES, who live and work on the island, directly caring for and monitoring the captive flock. The island staff is supported by many other ZSSD departments and CRES Divisions including Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Disease Laboratories, Avian Propagation Center, Nutrition, Behavioral Biology, and Genetics.


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