Saving the Floreana Mockingbird

Project Floreana

'Linking ecosystem restoration with the lives and aspirations of local residents'

For the first time a plan has been developed to restore the whole of an inhabited island, Floreana.  The Charles Darwin Foundation and Galapagos National Park are taking a holistic approach to removing introduced species, working with the local population and restoring all of the factors that make up its ecosystem in order to return Floreana to its original state.

Floreana was the first island in Galapagos to be inhabited.  Since the early 1800s, the presence of humans has resulted in habitat destruction, species loss, and the introduction of invasive species. Using this new holistic approach to conservation in Galapagos, Project Floreana will link ecosystem restoration with the lives and aspirations of local people, and integrate ecosystem restoration into the livelihoods of inhabitants.

This multifaceted project has been broken down into smaller projects and in 2009 GCT is raising funds for the critically endangered Floreana Mockingbird.

Saving the Floreana Mockingbird

Late in 2008 GCT launched an appeal to raise funds to help save the critically endangered Floreana Mockingbird (Mimus trifasciatus) from extinction and restore its native island.  It was actually the mockingbirds of Galapagos, not the finches, that inspired Darwin's theory of evolution, and so seems a fitting tribute for this bicentenary year.  This work is also vital as the Floreana Mockingbird is now one of the rarest birds in the world. 

It occurs only on two tiny islets off the coast of Floreana Island: Gardner and Champion Islands. Although the species was recorded as being common on the island of Floreana by Charles Darwin in 1835, the last individual collected on Floreana itself was in 1852 and the last reported sighting on Floreana was in 1868. The birds' extinction from Floreana is believed to have been caused by a number of factors including hunting, predation by introduced species (e.g. black rats, cats) and the loss of its favoured nesting and food source, the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia megasperma). In 2007 the population was estimated to be 38 birds on Champion and 98 on Gardner. Therefore this species is listed by IUCN as Critically Endangered.

This project will be carried out in collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT). 

A recovery plan has been developed for the species, with the ambitious goal of reintroducing the mockingbird to Floreana. A key stage towards this will be restoring the island to ensure that sufficient native habitat is in place for the species.

Please help us to save one of the rarest birds in the world by supporting Project Floreana.  To make a donation, please click here.