pride of place

Mauritius Kestrel designated official national bird

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A male Mauritius Kestrel with a brightly coloured day-gecko, its primary prey.

Once the world's rarest bird of prey, the Mauritius Kestrel was named the national bird of the Republic of Mauritius on 12 March 2022, the country's 30th anniversary as a republic and 54th as an independent nation. Mauritius was once home to the flightless Dodo, perhaps the best-known icon of human-driven wildlife extinctions. The Mauritius Kestrel, by contrast, is a bird conservation success story in progress, having recovered from a low of just four known wild individuals in 1974 to about 350 today.

'Mauritius will become famous for preventing wildlife extinctions, not just for historical wildlife extinctions, said Vikash Tatayah, conservation director for the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, which leads conservation efforts in Mauritius and called for the kestreľs designation as the national bird. “The Mauritius Kestrel is a symbol of our republic and it is a symbol of optimism and cooperation. Our work to save this species and many others is not yet done, but we know it is possible to do.'