They also have very short necks compared to the size of their heads and bodies.ĭerek said: "They are very energy efficient birds, everything they do is very patient, slow and deliberate. Shoebills have one of the slowest wing beats of any birds - marking, on average, 150 flaps a minute. These birds do have their work cut out for them, which is why it is so important to offer Abou a home and put ourselves forwards to try and do our bit". "They are also very human and prehistoric looking, which encourages hunting and negative human interference.
They live in countries in central and eastern Africa - like Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania - which are prone to extended periods of doubt, so there is a huge intensity on animals and people who are having to compete for the same environment. "Due to agricultural practices - such as pouring chemicals into rivers, intensive farming and of course climate change, shoebills are running out of places to go. We are talking about a bird which is very much under threat. He said: "In reality, I've never been in a position to see these amazing birds in the wild. He hopes the interest in Abou will raise awareness of the threats these species are facing around the world. Also known as whale heads, shoebills are at home in the swamps and marsh lands of East Africa, where they hunt fish and small invertebrates.ĭerek says he has been waiting 40 years for the "amazing moment" when he finally got to see "a shoebill in the feather". J5:15 AM PT Three recently hatched milky storks at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have raised hopes that a species fast disappearing from its natural habitat could one day mount a. That would just be the most wonderful thing!".Ībou, who is 4ft and weighs 12 pounds has a wing span of 8ft and has one of the largest and most unusual bills in the bird world. "So, the idea is - if we can keep her well and she thrives - when a male does become available, then he will also come and join us at Exmoor Zoo. We accepted Abou as part of the European breeding programme where there are more boys than girls. "The issue is that there are only 3,000 to 5,000 shoebills left in the wild - and that is not a big figure at all. He said: "There has been a huge amount of interest in Abou - and rightly so, she is magnificent to behold. She has been moved to the UK to wait while the breeding programme produces a male bird, so the pair can be matched and produce much-needed offspring.ĭerek Gibson, curator at Exmoor Zoo, says the team are "delighted" to welcome their newest member of the family. The lovesick bird has been greeting her keepers with displays of bowing and spreading her wings - a common courtship ritual. They are monogamous and normally only rear one youngster, so combined with threats arising from climate change, they are a species "massively under threat".Ībou, who is 14, was born and bred inside Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium. The unique looking bird is just one of eleven shoebills in the world currently in captivity - and now the only one in the UK.
Abou the female shoebill that has recently arrived at Exmoor Zoo as part of an international breeding programme to save her species.
#Us zoos with shoebill storks mods
If you think your post has been caught in the spam filter or wrongly removed, feel free to message the mods to check.An extremely rare 'dinosaur' bird - the only one of its kind in the UK - is patiently waiting for a lifelong mate to help save her entire species. The moderators of /r/ShoebillStorks reserve the right to remove posts at their own discretion. Posts may be facts, articles, news, pictures, video's, gifs etc. Only make posts that relate to Shoebill's Never Forget: Three different Shoebill gifs in the top 30 of /r/all at the same time: More information on the status of the Shoebill Stork can be found in the 2013 International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Shoebill (PDF) There are an estimated 5,000-8,000 individuals left in the wild. The Shoebill Stork is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Reddit's home for Shoebill pics, gifs, videos and more.
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