Hong Kong’s wild yellow-crested cockatoos may hold genetic traits that could help save the critically endangered species in Indonesia, a study has found.
The study, published in the Evolutionary Applications journal in May, underscored the importance of conserving the city’s cockatoo population.
Lead author Astrid Andersson from the University of Hong Kong’s school of biological sciences described these birds as a “backup”, preserving lineages of subspecies that may no longer exist in the wild.
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She urged greater support, including using artificial nest boxes to provide safe breeding sites.
“Instead of dismissing urban, introduced populations as ecologically redundant, we should view them as a potential ‘biodiversity ark’ that can actively help prevent extinction,” Andersson said.
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Hong Kong Island is now home to one-tenth of the global population of yellow-crested cockatoos, a species native to eastern Indonesia that has been driven to fewer than 2,000 birds due to poaching, the pet trade, and habitat loss.