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 the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken in the Wild

September 27, 2022

Since 1994, the Houston Zoo has supported conservation efforts for the endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken (APC) by raising and releasing APCs in the wild. We have raised and released over 1,300 Attwater’s prairie…

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.