Mitchell's lorikeets: Two of 'world’s rarest parrot' chicks hatch at Chester Zoo in fight to save the species

A UK zoo has welcomed "two of the most precious chicks on the planet", in what could be a pivotal moment in pulling a critically endangered parrot back from the brink of extinction.

Zookeepers at Chester Zoo have successfully hatched two Mitchell’s lorikeets on 9 and 11 September. Mitchell's lorikeets are a rare subspecies of the scarlet-breasted lorikeet - considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature - which are native to the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok. Their numbers have been decimated by the illegal wildlife trade, and a 2020 conservation expedition found just seven birds left in Bali.

The team still needs to determine the sex of the new arrivals, which will be done by testing DNA samples from their feathers, but the two chicks will have an important role to play in the future of their species. They eventually join a special breeding programme for the extremely rare birds, which is being coordinated by conservation zoos across Europe.

Chester Zoo's parrot team manager Zoe Sweetman said the hatching of two Mitchell’s lorikeet chicks was a "pivotal moment" for the species, especially as its future on the planet hangs in the balance. “Given how precious the chicks are, we’ve been monitoring them very closely and weighing the duo regularly to give them every chance of fledging the nest and reaching adulthood – they really are very special.

“The unrelenting pace of the illegal wildlife trade has pushed the species to the edge of existence, so in 2018 Chester joined an important conservation breeding programme where every new addition is helping to protect the future of the species," she told SWNS. "We’re now home to 12 of these beautiful parrots, which is sadly more than what has been recorded in the wild in recent years.”

The zoo said extensive hunting and trapping for the illegal wildlife trade was to blame for the lorikeet's drastic decline in numbers. More than a million birds are taken from the wild each year, and they said the market is being driven by a culture of keeping and giving birds as gifts - where rarer or more colourful birds are the most highly prized.

Andrew Owen, head of birds at the zoo, added that many of Indonesia’s bird have now largely disappeared from their forest homes. "This is why we’ve been working with our partners in Java, the Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre, for more than a decade to rescue birds and provide the skills to breed them in their own country.

"Part of this work also includes working with local communities to try and change the culture from trapping birds, to helping protect them, which is a huge task in itself," he continued. “In the case of the Mitchell’s lorikeet, it will be the role of conservation zoos like ours to provide a safe haven for the birds and, through specialised breeding programmes, secure their future and help bring them back from the brink.”