The great bustard (Otis tarda) was extinct in Britain by the 1840s, hunted out over roughly three centuries of agricultural enclosure and unrestricted shooting. A reintroduction program on Salisbury Plain, begun in 2004 using birds sourced from Russia, has established a small but breeding population — the species' first wild reproduction in the UK in over 170 years. Niue's wildlife coinage series has leaned heavily on endangered and recovering species, issued under a licensing arrangement that has made the island one of the more prolific bullion program issuers despite having no meaningful domestic precious metals industry.
The great bustard (Otis tarda) was extinct in Britain by the 1840s, hunted out over roughly three centuries of agricultural enclosure and unrestricted shooting. A reintroduction program on Salisbury Plain, begun in 2004 using birds sourced from Russia, has established a small but breeding population — the species' first wild reproduction in the UK in over 170 years. Niue's wildlife coinage series has leaned heavily on endangered and recovering species, issued under a licensing arrangement that has made the island one of the more prolific bullion program issuers despite having no meaningful domestic precious metals industry.