Over 80% of all tropical island Owl species are considered rare or endangered.
The Ashy Faced Owl is only found in Hispaniola…!

ASHY FACED OWL (Tyto glaucops)

On the 24th February 1999 a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by government representatives of the Dominican Republic and the Society for the Conservation and Research of Owls (S.C.R.O.) at Parque Zoologico Nacional (ZOODOM) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

This agreement was aimed at efforts to conserve the four Owl species endemic to the island of Hispaniola and remains the first agreement to conserve endemic Owl species supported by a government agency anywhere in the world.

The four Owls are:

The Ashy Faced Owl (Tyto glaucops)
The Hispaniola Short Eared Owl (Asio flammeus domingensis)
The Hispaniola Stygian Owl (Asio stygius noctipetens)
The Hispaniola Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia troglodytes)

Only The Ashy Faced Owl is endemic to Hispaniola, the other three are considered sub species

The agreement highlighted the urgent need to support these unique Owls in their efforts to adapt to a changing environment in a country of which 85% of the original habitat has been replaced by plantations, agricultural land, human settlements and tourist centres. This was part of a global undertaking by S.C.R.O. to secure and ensure the existence of Owl species that are threatened by human population growth and human activities on our planet. The North Wales Bird Trust has now taken over as leader of this Project.

The distribution of these Owls is restricted to the island of Hispaniola (76,200sq.km) of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Compared to the distribution of many other Owl species this is a very small living space and, as history has taught us, not without dangerous consequences for the existence of island Owl species. Ninety percent of the bird species and sub-species that have become extinct in historical times lived on islands.

The partners of the D.R.O.C.P. do not believe that “nothing can be done” to help!

We are facing a number of challenges in the Dominican Republic to conserve these unique Owls and we so much look forward to your support.

Since 1999 we have built a significant number of aviaries at Zoodom, the national Zoo in the DR, where we have bred both the Ashy Faced Owl and Hispaniola Burrowing Owl, providing us with valuable scientific knowledge to prepare for the urgently required field studies.

We do so much hope that you will continue to read the pages that we have provided on this site. The problem is complex……..but the immediate answer lies in our hands…..and yours if you would like to be involved in even the smallest of ways. We will explain…….financial support would be brilliant…….but we at the D.R.O.C.P. believe your interest and support is of equal value.

“Homo sapiens must find a way, for their own survival, to use nature
in a sustainable manner in the near future”.