Conservation Responsibility

Posted February 21, 2022 by Angela Hatke
SOURCE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A MOUNTED SPECIMEN OF CONUROPSIS CAROLINENSIS, MUSEUM WIESBADEN, GERMANY.

It was on this day in 1918 that the very last Carolina Parakeet, “Inca,” died. Carolina parakeets were the only endemic parrots of North America, and they were quite abundant all over the eastern and central USA. As Europeans settlers arrived and colonised the continent from the east, they started clearing away a lot of forests where the parrots resided, mainly for agriculture and residential life (Natural History Museum).

The Cincinnati Zoo is committed to the serious work of providing excellent care to animals that face so many threats in the wild that they are in decline. We are humbled and motivated by the responsibility we carry having cared for Inca and also Martha, the last passenger pigeon on the planet. We carry their stories with us to ensure other animals will not be their species’ last!
The Cincinnati Zoo is home to 90 endangered species and participates in more than 30 field conservation projects around the world. Read more about them here!