Extinct in the Wild: Guam Rail

Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Scientific Name: Gallirallus owstoni

Historic Range and Habitat:  

Most habitats on Guam, including forest, savanna, scrub, secondary grassland, fern thickets and agricultural areas, foraging along field edges and roadsides. 

What Guam Rails Eat: 

They are omnivorous, eating leaves, seeds, fruits, small lizards, bird eggs, small mammals, and carrion. 

How Long Guam Rails Live:  10-30 years.

Why Guam Rails Are Extinct in the Wild: 

Due to predation by the invasive brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) and feral cats, the Guam rail became extinct in the wild in the early 1980’s. It survived only in captive-breeding facilities in Guam and in 14 zoos in the USA until reintroduction to the wild activities began.

Conservation of Guam Rails: 

From 1989-2007, 853 captive reared rails were released on nearby Rota, Northern Mariana Islands (to USA). In 2011, 16 rails were released on Cocos Island, a small island off the southern tip of Guam, after rats were eradicated from the island. Evidence of breeding has been observed.

Zoos in the U. S. that currently participate in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan are Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Lincoln Park Zoo, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Santa Fe Teaching Zoo, Louisville Zoological Garden, Milwaukee County Zoo, National Zoological Park Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Oklahoma City Zoological Park, The Philadelphia Zoo, National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Racine Zoological Gardens, San Antonio Zoo, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and Sedgwick County Zoo.

Here is a video that explains the conservation activities that led to the 2011 release of 16 rails.