In the 1980s, there were only about 10 Echo Parakeets left alive. But, in a rare success story, a two-decade conservation program in a wooded corner of Mauritius has brought the endangered bird back from the brink of extinction. Evolving over millions of years on the once-uninhabited Indian Ocean island best known as the site of the dodo’s demise, the green-feathered Echo Parakeet was hit hard by rats, monkeys and the loss of forest that came with the arrival of humans. But careful breeding, supplementary feeding and the protection of nests have boosted numbers in the wild to more than 320 birds. (Reuters)