{"id":41329,"date":"2024-08-30T13:56:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T11:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c54f7d4e-a4a2-4197-ae38-b08ba282dec7"},"modified":"2024-08-30T14:27:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T12:27:32","slug":"we-will-be-ready-to-greet-them-with-our-hearts-wide-open-extinct-in-the-wild-sihek-begins-journey-back-to-pacific-home","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/we-will-be-ready-to-greet-them-with-our-hearts-wide-open-extinct-in-the-wild-sihek-begins-journey-back-to-pacific-home\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe will be ready to greet them with our hearts wide open.\u201d Extinct-in-the-Wild sihek begins journey back to Pacific home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Siheks, or Guam kingfishers, were wiped out by invasive snakes in the 1980s. Now, thanks to conservation efforts, they are edging back towards a life in the wild, reports Graeme Green. <\/p>

By Graeme Green\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 30 August 2024 at 11:56 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The sihek is one step, or wingbeat, closer to returning to its home in the wild thanks to a collaborative breeding programme<\/strong>.<\/p>

With bright orange and blue plumage, the\u00a0sihek (Todiramphus cinnamominus<\/em>), also known as the Guam kingfisher, was once found only on the North Pacific island of Guam. But their population was wiped out by the accidental introduction of invasive, predatory brown tree snakes, which first arrived in Guam in the 1940s on shipping containers. <\/p>

The impact on Guam\u2019s wildlife was devastating, with most native bird, bat and lizard species lost from the wild, and Guam\u2019s ecosystem thrown out of balance \u2013 less trees grew, due to the fact there were so few birds left to disperse seeds. <\/p>

The\u00a0sihek\u00a0was officially classified as Extinct-in-the-Wild by the IUCN in 1988.\u00a0<\/p>