An emotional sendoff happened recently as we celebrated a big win for conservation. Five juvenile Florida grasshopper sparrows were sent into their natural range on June 22, contributing to the population of this critically endangered species.
This group of five young sparrows included individuals from our first two clutches of eggs. After hatching, the sparrows stay with their parents for 21 days, after which they move to a separate behind-the-scenes habitat and are monitored to confirm they are eating on their own. After a few more weeks of growing and monitoring, they are ready to be released into their natural range.
These sparrows will serve as invaluable members of the range-wide population of Florida grasshopper sparrows, which is threatened due to non-native fire ants and amount of available high-quality habitat, among other factors.
Florida grasshopper sparrows are only found in a few areas in Central and South Florida and have lost approximately 85% of their natural habitat to agriculture. Helping this imperiled species is a big undertaking, but it’s one that we are so happy to do! There is still a long way to go, but due to the hard work of Brevard Zoo’s conservation team and its partners, more Florida grasshopper sparrows will soon be flying around their natural range.
