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

Saving an Iconic Bird from Extinction

August 27, 2021

The Houston Zoo is helping one of the most endangered birds in North America make a comeback. A century ago, there were about one million Attwater’s prairie chickens in the wild, today it…

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 2020, 57 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.