Everything about The Bermuda Petrel totally explained
The
Bermuda Petrel,
Pterodroma cahow, is a gadfly
petrel.
Commonly known in
Bermuda as the
Cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this
nocturnal ground-nesting
seabird is the national bird of Bermuda, and a symbol of hope for
nature conservation. It was thought
extinct for 330 years. Its dramatic rediscovery as a "
Lazarus species", that is, a species found to be alive after being considered extinct for centuries, has inspired documentary
filmmakers.
Initially superabundant throughout the
archipelago, the Cahow is a slow breeder, but excellent flier, and spends its
adult life on the open
seas. At five years old it returns to its former nesting place and begins breeding, laying only one
egg per season. Cahows mate for life.
The Cahows' eerie
nocturnal cries stopped the early
Spanish seafarers settling the Islands out of superstition, as they thought the Isles were inhabited by Devils. Instead they put ashore hogs as a living foodstore for passing ships, and so began the onslaught on the Cahow's existence.
Following Bermuda's colonisation by the
English, introduced species like
rats,
cats and
dogs, and mass killings of the
birds by early colonists decimated numbers. Despite being protected by one of the world's earliest conservation decrees, the
Governor's proclamation "against the spoyle and havocke of the Cohowes," the birds were thought to have been driven to
extinction since the 1620s.
In
1951, 18 surviving nesting pairs were found on rocky
islets in
Castle Harbour, and a program was set up by
David B. Wingate to build concrete
burrows and wooden bafflers for the nesting
tunnels in order to keep out the slightly larger, competing
'Bermuda longtail', and to restore the nearby
Nonsuch Island to be a future viable base for the
species.
Enjoying legal protection, the species has started to make a good recovery, The main threat for the future is lack of suitable breeding
habitat.
Hurricane Fabian destroyed many nesting burrows in
2003, and recently the larger and ecologically-restored
Nonsuch Island is being repopulated with chicks, their translocation timed so that'll imprint on these surroundings.
(External Link
) This work is being undertaken by the present Bermuda Conservation Officer
Jeremy Madeiros assisted by the
Australian petrel specialist
Nick Carlile.
Nonetheless, the global population of this bird in
2005 was only about 250 individuals.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bermuda Petrel'.
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