Calgary Zoo successfully hatches 11 greater sage grouse eggs

The Calgary Zoo may have hatched a solution to the feared extinction of the greater sage grouse.

Plucking a baker’s dozen of greater sage grouse eggs from Alberta’s prairies, the zoo has managed to successfully hatch 11 of them, marking a conservation first in Canada.

Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager, head of conservation and research at the zoo, said left unaided the species would almost certainly die out in Canada — and soon.

“The projection is the species would be lost in the country in the next two to five years,” he said.

“This is the beginning of a real concerted effort that will take at least 10 years.”