Leonardo DiCaprio has praised Chester Zoo for its work serving to to reintroduce a near-extinct species of fish to its native habitat in Mexico.
The golden skiffa had not been witnessed swimming in its solely recognized house, the Teuchitlan River in central-western Mexico, because the Nineteen Nineties.
To coincide with Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico this month, consultants from Chester Zoo and Michoacan University of Mexico launched 1,200 golden skiffas again into their native river after a conservation breeding programme.
DiCaprio, 48, who has lengthy described himself as an environmentalist, praised the challenge on Instagram.
The Hollywood actor has spoken at key local weather summits, together with the signing of the Paris local weather settlement in 2016.
The group at Chester, who helped put together the fish for the wild earlier than they have been launched, have been delighted with the endorsement and replied: “Thank you for sharing this incredible story!”
Golden skiffas have been made near-extinct by dam development, water extraction, air pollution and an invasive species of their river.
After numbers plummeted, in 2014 scientists from Michoacan University and fishkeepers from the Goodied Working Group helped restore the water and take away any dangerous species that might threaten the fish dwelling there.
Under the breeding programme their numbers rose they usually have been sorted by consultants within the UK and Latin America because the inhabitants grew.
Fish positioned in pods earlier than heading to Mexico
Chester Zoo positioned the fish in floating pods referred to as mesocosms, the place they lived for a month to assist them adapt to pure situations earlier than they have been taken to Mexico.
Before they have been let go, they have been tagged to allow them to be monitored for 5 years to see how the inhabitants will increase.
Paul Bamford, regional programme supervisor for Latin America at Chester Zoo, mentioned: “This project is a great example of how zoos can contribute to conservation in the field through conservation breeding and research.
“By supporting freshwater conservation in Mexico and the ecosystems the place the fish dwell, we’re not solely defending biodiversity and the wellbeing of freshwater environments, but in addition the folks and communities that dwell alongside them.”
Omar Dominguez-Dominguez, a professor and researcher from the Michoacan University of Mexico, who is leading the golden skiffia reintroduction, said: “Releasing the golden skiffia presently is a metaphor for a way the species has come again from the lifeless to return to its house, not for one evening, however perpetually.
“Knowing that universities, zoos and aquarists can come together to fix some of what has been destroyed and return to nature some of what has been lost is an amazing thing.”
Source: information.sky.com”