Indianapolis Zoo donates $1 million to save critically endangered hummingbird

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Zoo is donating $1 million to an Ecuadorian conservation group in an effort to save a type of hummingbird from extinction.

The donation to Fundacion Jocotoco was part of the Indianapolis Zoo’s Saving Species Challenge, which was created with the goal of saving a single species from extinction.

More than 50 applications for the grant were sent to the zoo from 46 countries. A group of international conservation experts chose to move forward with an application that laid out a plan to save the Blue-Throated Hillstar.

The Blue-Throated Hillstar is a species of hummingbird that was not discovered until 2017. The Hillstar is only found in a 24-square-mile area, according to the Indianapolis Zoo.

The Hillstar lives in a cold, high-elevation Chillian Mountain range located in southwestern Ecuador. The Indianapolis Zoo reported that mining and frequent burning shrunk the bird’s habitat.

Photos courtesy of the Indianapolis Zoo.

Habitat loss is one of the reasons the Hillstar has been classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Per the Indianapolis Zoo, only 110 adult Hillstars currently remain.

“We are witnessing a global decline in biodiversity, and the Indianapolis Zoo is determined to make a positive difference,” Indianapolis Zoo President Robert Shumaker said via press release. “We are honored to support the work of Fundación Jocotoco, and I am confident the Blue-Throated Hillstar can be saved.”

Fundacion Jocotoco has a reputation when it comes to protecting birds. The organization once helped quintuple the 50-bird population of the Pale-Headed Brushfinch.

“We know we can succeed because we’ve done it before — like saving the critically endangered Pale-Headed Brushfinch,” CEO of Fundaction Jocotoco Martin Scahefer said via release. “Once reduced to just 50 individuals, Jocotoco protected the Brushfinch’s last habitat, and the population quickly increased fivefold.”

Fundacion Jocotoco has already established a reserve to help protect the Hillstar’s habitat. The organization now plans to use the grant it received from the Indianapolis Zoo to expand the Hillstar’s protected land and ensure its survival.

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