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Attwater’s Prairie Chicken

While you won’t see this animal when you visit the Zoo, our zoo keepers breed these animals behind the scenes and release them into the wild to ensure they will not go extinct.

Stable

Threatened

Endangered

2025 Conservation Successes

February 20, 2026

In 2025, the Houston Zoo and its global partners made powerful strides for wildlife. Together, we protected habitats, rescued imperiled species, and strengthened communities working on the front lines of conservation. Highlights from…

Scientific Name

Tympanuchus cupido attwateri

Range

Texas coastal prairie

Location in the Zoo

Behind the Scenes

Cool Animal Fact

The Attwater’s Prairie Chicken is not a chicken! It’s technically a grouse – and it’s vanishing from the coastal prairies of Texas.

Working To Save This Endangered Species

In 2021, 69 Attwater’s prairie chickens were released into the wild. The effort is saving this rare Texas bird from extinction.

2,464 acres of the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge was treated to manage red imported fire ants – protecting the valuable food source for chicks.

How You Can Help

Donate to the Houston Zoo’s conservation fund to help support this project.

Donate Today