New Visitors at the Mexican Bird Museum
Biol. Samuel López de Aquino
The Mexican Bird Museum is unique on its genre within the country and it has been chosen to house two species of birds considered true icons of conservation of North American wildlife. These species are the California Condor and the Whooping Crane. Its presence in our museum is not due to chance, it is the result of the effort of a lot of people whose knowledge, abilities and skills have achieved to avoid the total extinction of these species .
These two magnificent birds are the only one shown in a museum in our country and they symbolized the fight for survival that characterizes species in danger all around the world.
Last January 18 2010 an important ceremony took place. Authorities of the Comison Nacional de las Áreas Naturales Protegidas, WildLife Service and the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia were guest honors of this ceremony. The Governor of the state of Coahuila, professor Humberto Moreira Valdés along with the Major of the city of Saltillo, Jericó Abramo Masso and Mr. Aldegundo Garza de León, founder and president of the Board of our museum re-opened halls 3, 4, and 5 where these majestic birds are exhibited.
Our specimen of California Condor is one of the 11 that had been released in the Sierra of San Pedro Martir, Baja California; unfortunately the consumption of polluted meat with lead made that this individual died but not without showing us that there still are great possibilities to stop the damage that as mankind we have done to nature and also it show us that there is still a lot of work to do. The Whooping Crane, the tallest bird in North America was once almost extinct but thanks to a conservation program now we can still see them in nature.
All these facts make us think about the responsibility and challenge every one of us has to face and that the costs of repairing our mistakes with nature should not only be considered in economic terms but also in the compromise we have with our world and our children, we have to remember that “we have to value and keep what we know and love”, and please let us welcome this two unique species and share with every visitant our “dream come true”.
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