Rare Seabird Population Jumps From 12K to 90K in Chile

Nature has a breathtaking way of healing when we give it room to breathe. On a windswept sanctuary off northern Chile, one of the world's rarest seabirds has staged a comeback so massive it has stunned biologists.

Choros Island is once again bustling with life as the Peruvian diving petrel population soared from 12,000 breeding pairs in 2013 to nearly 90,000 pairs in 2024. A new study in the journal Marine Ornithology confirms that numbers have multiplied more than sevenfold in just over a decade.

The turning point arrived when conservationists tackled the root of the problem by removing invasive rabbits from the island. For decades, the rabbits stripped away native vegetation and collapsed the delicate underground burrows petrels rely on to raise their chicks.

Once conservation teams cleared the island of rabbits in 2013, the landscape rebounded with startling speed. The petrels' nesting territory quickly expanded from just over three hectares to more than ten hectares today.

This single island holds massive importance because it hosts roughly 95 percent of Chile's entire breeding population. Researchers from Universidad Católica del Norte found that while steady protection began decades ago, eradicating the rabbits acted as an immediate turbocharger for the species.

In fact, scientists estimate the local population has grown an astounding 300-fold since 1980. The dramatic boom directly helped shift the petrel from Endangered to Near Threatened status on global conservation lists.

The Ripple Effect

This dramatic turnaround proves that targeted conservation can rescue entire island ecosystems. When seabirds thrive, they enrich coastal soils and bolster marine food webs by cycling vital ocean nutrients back to land.

Conservation groups are already applying these proven methods to neighboring islands, using artificial burrows and recorded bird calls to draw petrels back to restored habitats. The stunning recovery on Choros now serves as an inspiring blueprint for restoring vulnerable island ecosystems around the globe.

When humans step in to right past ecological wrongs, our planet responds with an abundance and vitality that can surpass our wildest dreams.