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HERMANN PARK ZOO-HOUSTON-ANIMALS 4/29/03--"Perry", a newly born Attwater's Prairie Chicken is held by a zookeeper at the Houston Zoo. The Prairie Chicken, a highly endangered species according to a zoo spokesperson, was only a few hours old when he was taken out of his cage to be weighed. He weighed in at 15.73 grams which is normal for a newly born Prairie Chicken. HOUCHRON CAPTION (05/02/2003): Perry, the first Attwater's prairie chicken hatched this spring at the Houston Zoo, weighed in at 15.73 (about 0.555 ounce) Tuesday. Twenty-six of the endangered birds are involved in the zoo's captive breeding program. "This spring, our prairie chickens have laid 59 eggs," bird curator Lee Schoen said. At 4 months, healthy chicks will be fitted with radio tracking collars and released at the Attwater's Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge at Eagle Lake or the Texas Nature Conservancy's Galveston Bay Prairie Chicken Preserve. Once counted in the millions among the Texas coast, the Attwater's population declined to only 192 birds in 1994. (Photo by Steve Campbell/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)