The Pink Pigeon - brought back from extinction by the MWF and the DWCT

Although at first glance it might not look particularly amazing, the Pink Pigeon is one of the rarest birds in the world. Just 12 Pink Pigeons remained in 1986, and of the five nesting attempts recorded that year none were successful, following predation by introduced species. Bleak seemed the chances of long-term survival for the Pink Pigeon.

An intensive conservation programme was introduced in the 1980s by the MWF and the DWCT. The DWCT released the first captive-bred Pink Pigeon into the wild in 1984. It is a success story for both conservation groups - in 2005 the population had reached a stable, albeit rare, number. In 2010 the population had reached around 400. Although it is still classed as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is the only Mascarene pigeon that has not gone extinct.

The MWF works vigorously to continue to save the species. Every Pink Pigeon is ringed with its own metal ID band so they can identified. They regularly check the Pink Pigeon's nests, give supplementary feeding and work to eradicate introduced predators.