TYLER, Texas — The Caldwell Zoo announced the latest major milestone in their efforts to preserve a critically endangered population of chicken.
According to Paul Swen, a spokesperson for the Caldwell Zoo, 20 full-grown Attwater's prairie chickens were released into a protected wildlife refuge in Texas with the help of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
Caldwell Zoo said over the past four months, the zoo's bird team has worked to collect eggs and nurture the infant prairie chickens to ensure the sensitive bird remains healthy. Each bird was tagged, dewormed and provided necessary medications, while the females were also fitted with radio collars so experts can monitor their progress in the wild.
"We're so excited to be able to work with a native Texas species that's critically endangered, and having birds that we raise here be put back into the wild is just super great," Yvonne Stainback, curator of birds and reptiles for the Caldwell Zoo, said.