Zoo begins mission to save Mexican boxer pupfish

Cyprinodon simus, otherwise known as boxer pupfish, are believed to be extinct in their native home in Mexico

A zoo has started a breeding programme for a Mexican fish species that is believed to have gone extinct in the wild.

Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire says it has been told by conservationists that its own boxer pupfish is the last one of its species in the world.

It is native to Lake Chichancanab in Mexico, but experts there believe the local population has been decimated.

Fifty boxer pupfish eggs have been moved to the Bristol Zoo Project to try creating a "back-up" population.

Whipsnade is run by the Zoological Society of London and its assistant curator of fish Alex Cliffe said: "Finding out that the last remaining wild boxer pupfish could be extinct was a really sobering moment, but we knew we didn't have time to dwell and had to act quickly to safeguard the future of this species."

The adult boxer pupfish is a prized resident at Whipsnade Zoo

The extinction of boxer pupfish at Lake Chichancanab, which is in the state of Yacatan near the Caribbean Sea, could put other local predator animals at risk such as bird species and reptiles.

Brian Zimmerman, director of conservation and science at Bristol Zoological Society, said: "By strengthening the numbers of the boxer pupfish across more than one institution, we will ensure that the species survives, even if it is lost in the wild."

The boxer pupfish eggs have been extracted, ready for the journey to Bristol

The small fish eggs were collected from Whipsnade using bundles of wool, to replicate plants they would normally lay their eggs in.

They were then extracted and transferred in pots filled with water to their new location in Bristol.