39 Endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers Hatch At Detroit Zoo

The Detroit Zoological Society’s Piping Plover Captive Rearing Program had its best year ever after welcoming 39 new hatchlings in 2020.

The endangered Great Lakes piping plovers are native to the Great Lakes of both the United States and Canada and were once a common sight along the coast of Lake Michigan.  The Detroit Zoological Society started the Piping Plover Captive Rearing Program almost 20 years ago and have reared 299 piping plovers.

Dozens of the birds have been released into the wild since the beginning of the program and currently there are 64 pairs and 79 nests in the wild.  Check out a video posted by the Detroit Zoo showing the release of four of the birds onto the beach in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore park.

You can read more about birds and the Detroit Zoological Society at DetroitZoo.org.