The Mauritius Kestrel Falco punctatus was once regarded as the World’s rarest bird; by 1974 only four individuals were known to survive in the Lower Black River Gorges. There is an estimated 800-1000 free flying Mauritius Kestrels currently. The Mauritius Kestrel has been saved from extinction by intensive management of the wild population in conjunction with the release of captive bred or captive reared birds.

The Mauritius Kestrel was once widely distributed over the island from sea level to the highest upland forest of Mauritius. With the destruction and degradation of native forest for lumber and clearing for agricultural lands the numbers declined dramatically. By 1900 they had become restricted to the three main mountain ranges on Mauritius, the Moka, the Bambous and the Black River Gorges, with possibly several hundred pairs.

The use of organo-chloride and organo-phosphates pesticides (mainly DDT) in the 1950’s and 1960’s for the control of malaria was almost the nail in the coffin for this species. By the late 1950’s only 20 to 25 birds could be found, all in the Black River Gorges, where pesticides had not been used. By May of 1974, the total wild population was reduced to a mere four birds, including a single breeding female.

A captive population was created from harvesting wild eggs, and the young were subsequently released back into the wild. To maximize breeding success some kestrels were supplementary fed and the nests were protected from another problem for kestrels – introduced mammalian predators. Rats and monkeys regularly eat the nest contents. Predator proof nest-boxes were provided and are still used by kestrels today. By 1991 there were at least 30 wild nesting pairs and a population of 170 wild birds in 4 sub-populations. By 1994 346 young kestrels had been released back into the wild.

The success of the project has resulted in the Mauritius Kestrel being downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 1994 and then to Vulnerable in 2000 by the IUCN.

Monitoring of all nesting pairs continued in the Black River Gorges until 2001 and continues today in the Bambous Mountain population. The Bambous Mountain kestrel population went extinct in the 1950’s until birds were released in 1987. They have been monitored ever since with almost all nests found and nestlings ringed. This long term dataset is unusually complete for a wild animal and is now being used for various PhD studies.

Sponsored By:
Le Domaine d’Anse Jonchee Ltd
Peregrine Fund
National Parks and Conservation Service
University of Reading

Last update: 28 August 2007