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In the 1970s, feral pigs and cats left fewer than 30 Lord Howe woodhens; after the pigs went and a 2019 rat purge, at least 1,638 now roam the island
Lord Howe woodhens fell to 9 breeding pairs in the 1970s. After predator removal, captive breeding, and a 2019 rat eradication, at least 1,638 now live there.
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Good news about wildlife is rare, and this flightless island bird is worth a closer look. The Lord Howe woodhen, found nowhere else on earth, was reduced to just 9 breeding pairs in the 1970s, according to a media release from the NSW government. A survey in December 2024, announced in March 2025, puts the total at a minimum of 1,638 birds, a striking turnaround for a species that was once on the brink of extinction.
A small island bird in deep trouble
The woodhen is endemic to Lord Howe Island, off the mid-east coast of Australia. In their paper, Dean Portelli and Nicholas Carlile explain that the species was pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting pressure and introduced predators. The recovery program focused on feral pigs, cats, and goats. Lord Howe Island Board chief executive Suzie Christensen said that about 50 years ago, fewer than 30 woodhens were believed to remain in the world.
A rescue plan in two parts
The recovery program began in the 1970s. Scientists conducted a captive breeding program on the island, and crews eradicated the introduced predators, including pigs and cats. Portelli and Carlile say the program, which brought three wild breeding pairs into captivity from Mount Gower in 1980, produced 76 chicks over four years. The paper adds that almost all the captive-bred birds were released across four sites, but only 13% were resighted, and numbers rose at just one site before declining there. A captive-bred female released in the lowlands paired with a wild male and bred prolifically, so the lowlands group expanded rapidly.
Then there was the rodent project
Pigs and cats were not the last pest problem because rodents, including rats, were still on the island. The Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project completed its final stage in 2019. It is the biggest of its type on an inhabited island anywhere in the world and was declared a success in 2023 after two years of monitoring and checks found no rodents, the NSW release says. After that final stage, the release said, the numbers jumped. Portelli and Carlile wrote that removing rodents would likely help the population grow further.
What the latest count shows
The latest figures come from a December 2024 survey, which recorded 1,535 adult and juvenile woodhens in addition to 26 chicks. The previous count, in 2022, found at least 1,147 woodhens. Surveyors skipped Mount Gower because of the risk of spreading a pathogen, so the 77 birds counted there in 2022 were added to the 2024 results from the rest of the island. Together with the chicks, that brings the total to at least 1,638. The Mount Gower population has likely grown since then.
Why this bird is important
The woodhen feeds mainly on the forest floor, on earthworms, mollusks, and other invertebrates. The release describes them as an indicator species, meaning their health reflects the health of the wider ecosystem, and the island is a World Heritage site. They are still listed as endangered by New South Wales and the Australian Government, and a biosecurity program is in place to protect the island’s flora and fauna. The recovery effort started in 1978, and according to Christensen, it was a collective effort.
