World's rarest goose hatches nēnē goslings at WWT Slimbridge

During the 1950's the goose - fondly known as nēnē - was close to extinction due to the introduction of predators and the loss of habitat in Hawaii.

Now, more birds have been hatched on the other side of the world in Gloucestershire.

In 1979, Sir Peter Scott released 200 nēnēs on their native island of their native Maui, Hawaii.

However, all the best habitat having disappeared for development, so nēnēs survived by adapting to other environments, such as fertile volcanic slopes.

With only 30 nēnēs left, Sir Peter Scott and colleagues had three birds sent to WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire for breeding.

Now, the centre has announced that more nēnē goslings have hatched this April.

Jonathan Newton, Living Collections Supervisor said: “It has been a wonderful experience monitoring the breeding nēnēs in the exhibit, because I know how loved they are by our staff and visitors.

Nēnēs at WWT Slimbridge - it is the second time that the reserve has successfully bred this species (Image: WWT Slimbridge)

"I’m so pleased that these nēnē families will help inspire future generations about the importance of conservation.”

This is the second time that Slimbridge has successfully bred this species in their immersive exhibit, ‘Mission Possible’, which opened in May 2021.

WWT began to successfully breed the nēnēs in captivity and release them back into the wild, the world population is now 3,000.

However, the nēnēs population remains vulnerable and still relies on regular releases of captive-bred birds.

Visitors to WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre can see the new nēnē families at the Mission Possible exhibit.

Mission Possible recreates this Hawaiian landscape and even includes a golf course and golf club house that visitors can explore.

Visitors can discover how Sir Peter Scott developed ground-breaking techniques to breed them and rescue them from the brink of extinction.