A specimen of purple gallinule (Prophyrio Porphiyrio), an endangered species, was found in a beach establishment in the Playa of Catania and was brought back to the Simeto Oasis by the operators who carry out surveillance services in the reserve, a place rich in of marshes and thick reeds where it nests and hides as soon as it notices danger. This was announced by the Metropolitan City of Catania. The Sultan Chicken once inhabited all the coasts of the Mediterranean and its presence reached as far as the Middle East.
It was widespread in Sicily but then disappeared when the humid and marshy areas where it was present were reclaimed and transformed into agricultural areas and became the object of residential or tourist settlements. The hunters contributed to decimating the species, captured with the ‘coppi’ system, i.e. pots with bait-traps used in the “Pantano di Catania” area. Until the end of the 19th century, the mouth of the Simeto was the natural habitat of the purple gallinule, which then completely disappeared. Reintroduced about 25 years ago by the then Province (now metropolitan city) of Catania – managing body of the ‘Oasi del Simeto’ oriented nature reserve -, the purple gallinule now constitutes a rare and precious presence in that very interesting marshy area from the point of naturalistic and landscape view.
Tags: endangered species
