How the Pink Pigeon Escaped the Dodo's Fate

Isobel Shepherd-Smith has a nice article on The Times website about the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and how it has been working to bring back native creatures from the brink of extinction. The article ticks many of the Last Chance To See boxes with mentions of Carl Jones, Dodos, Mauritius Kestrels, Pink Pigeons, Echo Parakeets, Gerald Durrell, Round Island, and Rodrigues.

In the Seventies the kestrel, the only raptor on the island, was one of the rarest birds in the world – only four lived in the wild. Today there are more than 800.

In 1980 the number of pink pigeons barely made double figures; 27 years later there were 380. In the 1980s the emerald green echo parakeet numbered little more than a dozen; now there are well over 300.
[...]
“At the start of this conservation work in the 1970s the future of the endemic species in Mauritius and Rodrigues seemed bleak and many thought that few could be saved from extinction. Thirty years later the long-term conservation of all the Mascarene [Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues] endemics is within our grasp.”

The Song of the Dodo

David Quammen's book "The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction", is previewed over at Google Books, and features the pages that introduce Mauritius Kestrel conservationist Carl Jones into the story. Carl Jones featured in both the Last Chance To See book and also in the Rodrigues Fruitbat Radio Episode which is now available for streaming from the BBC Last Chance To See website.

Carl Jones is a tall, sarcastic Welshman with a sheepdog haircut, a weakness for bad jokes, and a manic devotion to native Mauritian wildlife, especially the birds. His reputation carries far beyond south-western Mauritius, but I've only just met him, and I hardly know what to expect. I know that he has lived on the island a dozen years. I know that he runs a bird-rescue project in the vicinity of Riviere Noire, near the mouth of a system of steep valleys and igneous cliffs called (at least by the English speakers in this polyglot culture) the Black River Gorges. I know that the Black River Gorges contain small, precious remnants of forest, enclaves of wild landscape amid the sugar cane and the urban sprawl and the beach-tourism development that carpet modern Mauritius. I know that one focus of Jones's efforts has been the severely endangered falcon, the Mauritius kestrel, which stood just a sneeze from extinction then Jones first arrived. And I know that Jones, though trained as a scientist, retains the admirable passion and zeal of an adolescent pigeon fancier.

The full version of the book is available at both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Iain Gardner Animations

I thought I'd share these interesting animations by Iain Gardner from the UK.

Firstly, check out his film "Flight of the Dodo" which features Carl Jones talking about his work in Mauritius with the Pink Pigeon and Echo Parakeet.

And now, check out these "Sketchbook" animations of endangered animals such as Aye-Aye, Gorilla, Polar Bears and Rhinos. Iain says "These studies are as much about memory as they are observation. Memories are all we will have left of these species unless more is done to protect these wonderful creatures in the wild."

Aye-Aye Lemur

Gorilla

AUDIO - Carl Jones, Pink Pigeons and Lemurs - Radio 4 programme alert!

Tonight on BBC Radio 4, 9pm BST (4PM ET), "A Life With Lemurs" is introduced by Gabrielle Walker.

In the 1970s, Patricia Wright left her a life as Brooklyn housewife to begin a journey that led to her becoming one of the world's leading lemur experts.

Gabrielle Walker travels to Madagascar to meet Pat and the lemurs, finding out what it's like to discover an entire new species, and encountering Mother Blue - one of the oldest animals in the forest.

The programme is available to Listen Again here.

Back on 25th July, the programme was devoted to conservationist Carl Jones's work with the Pink Pigeons!. Click to Listen Again to "A Life With Pink Pigeons".

Conservationist Carl Jones left Wales 26 years ago for Mauritius - once home to the infamous Dodo - to try to stop the unique Mauritian pink pigeon sharing the Dodo's fate. Among the island's ebony forests and giant tortoises, he tells Grant Sonnex what his life's work has taught him, and why he is optimistic for the future of conservation worldwide.

MAURITIUS - Dodos, Pink Pigeons, Echo Parakeets and Mauritius Kestrels

Here's the Financial Times with a report on the the bird life of Mauritius. "At worship in a forest cathedral" mentions Carl Jones and his remarkable efforts, and talks about all of the birds Douglas Adams mentions in Last Chance To See.

It was the home of the dodo until the Portuguese settled on the uninhabited island in the mid 17th century and drove the species to extinction but more recent birdlife that has been nearing oblivion has been a bit luckier.

The pink pigeon, a distant cousin of the dodo, the echo parakeet and the Mauritius kestrel have all had a reprieve, due largely to the work of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and the tireless efforts of conservationist Carl Jones, a scientific director of the foundation, who was greatly influenced by the work of naturalist Gerald Durrell.

MAURITIUS KESTREL - Conservation Project

This section at the Mauritius Research Council discusses a talk on the Conservation Management of Endangered Endemic Bird Species in Mauritius, by the team led by Dr Carl Jones.

The PDF presentation has all the slides from the talk, and includes information on the decline and recovery of both the Mauritius Kestrel and the Pink Pigeon.

LATE NEWS - MBE for Carl Jones

Carl Jones, the man sent to close down the Mauritius Kestrel preservation project, and who failed miserably, was honoured with an MBE last year for his great work. This article at Durrell Wildlife site has more.