Bird breeders in Russia's central Vladimir region are celebrating a success. After more than 40 years of trying, they’ve managed to breed a scarce species of wild geese in captivity.

The geese, valued for their large size, their feathers and their meat, were almost hunted to extinction during tsarist times.

In the last few weeks, more than 400,000 goslings from 23 threatened varieties, hatched in the Suzdal research institute.

One in two is an exact copy of their famous ancestors, recreated through a process of selective breeding.

Researchers persuaded the geese to lay eggs by first observing the geese in the wild and then recreating those conditions at the institute. 

This summer they're planning to study rare grey geese in an attempt to save it from extinction in Russia.