Paradise Wildlife Park is proud to announce that their rare Black Hornbills have hatched a second pair of chicks, in what is thought of to be a world-first known documented event within the species.
Back in April, the breeding pair were announced to be the first pair in Europe to hatch and rear a healthy chick during a two-year period. The Hornbill pair have defied all previous known knowledge about the species, having successfully bred and hatched a pair of chicks for the second time in one year. Both chicks are currently healthy and growing alongside attentive mum Mulu inside the nest box.
Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas recently hatched two violaceous turacos. The first chick hatched on August 23rd. The second chick hatched on Tuesday, September 6th. Both are behind the scenes and doing well. This is the first live hatching of violaceous turacos for the Gladys Porter Zoo.
For the first time, Bird House keepers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute are celebrating the hatching of two critically endangered blue-billed curassows. The two female chicks are being cared for off-exhibit. The first chick, named Aluna, hatched Aug. 5. Her sister Lulo hatched Aug. 28. Aluna is the first offspring for 6-year-old mother, Jackie; the 16-year-old father, JB, previously sired chicks at another institution. Keepers report that the sisters are thriving and describe them as confident and curious.
The ASLC (Alaska SeaLife Center) recently had seven Steller's eider ducklings hatch at the Center! Steller's eiders are endemic to Alaska and are rarely seen outside of Alaskan waters. These are the first Steller's eiders ducklings hatched at the Center since 2018, making this a very special moment for all!
"We raise waldrapp chicks by hand to imprint them on us. This imprinting is important for reintroducing them to Europe and leading them to the places where they hibernate. My colleague Lisa Kern and I sit in an ultra-light plane and fly to Tuscany in front of them. To further imprint them on us we spend a lot of time with them all day. We smooch them, we cuddle them and of course we feed them. We always wear the identification color yellow. The plane's umbrella is yellow as well."
Eat, sleep, repeat... There are currently three zoo-born pelicans among the Tierpark Berlin Brown Pelicans. Amazingly, the little ones are being raised together in one nest. Typically, only one or two young are raised successfully. The triplets hatched around Christmas time last year. The pelican family are on view year around at the zoo.
San Antonio Zoo is excited to share this very special and rare footage: their Aviculture team welcoming a Micronesian kingfisher chick – one of the world’s most endangered animals – to the world!
This is the youngest of the 2 Micronesian Kingfishers hatched this year.
He was malpositioned in the egg, and was not going to be capable of hatching on his own.
San Antonio zoo specializes in moments like this where "assisted hatches" are necessary.
Support their new babies by donating to their Baby Shower Fundraiser at ow.ly/BbYy30rGBrO
Brevard Zoo animal care staff are doting over two tiny galahs. The older chick hatched on March 21, and the younger sibling emerged from its egg six days later. The latter has yet to open its eyes. They are the first galahs to ever hatch at the Zoo.
The eggs were placed in a climate-controlled incubator several weeks ago because the chicks’ parents had not successfully hatched out young in the past. The chicks—who have not yet been named or sexed—are syringe-fed a specialized parrot formula nine times throughout the day.
These youngsters will stay behind the scenes for at least a few weeks, then move to a public-facing habitat with the rest of the Zoo’s galah flock.
Galahs are members of the cockatoo family native to Australia. As adults, they are famed for their vibrant pink plumage.
Auckland Zoo is working in partnership with the New Zealand Department of Conservation https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2021-media-releases/breeding-season-for-rare-tara-iti-offers-hope-for-future/ to conserve New Zealand’s fairy tern – one of the rarest birds in the world.
New Zealand fairy tern / tara iti face many threats in the wild - they nest on low lying shell and sand banks which leaves their nests, and the eggs inside, vulnerable to storms and adverse weather. It also leaves the eggs open to predation and disturbance by off-road vehicles, dogs and humans.
These factors combined have left the species in a critical condition, and despite intensive management, fairy tern have teetered on the brink of extinction since the 1970s. With fewer than 40 adult birds alive today, they have a current conservation threat status of ‘nationally critical’.
To protect potential offspring, DOC rangers will monitor fairy tern nests that are at risk of flooding or other environmental concerns. This breeding season, with severe winds forecast, DOC staff were able to safely collect and bring eggs to the zoo for incubation. This gives the un-hatched chicks the highest chance of survival, but this method only works if the parents return to the nest to take care of the eggs. To ensure this happens DOC rangers will swap out the fertile eggs for artificial ones until the threat to the eggs has passed.
Unfortunately this wasn’t possible for a few of the eggs - the nests were either washed away or despite the precautions, they were abandoned by the parents. For those eggs, the decision was made to hand-rear any chicks that hatched, a management technique that hasn't been attempted since the 1990’s.
Thankfully, a healthy chick hatched and, in collaboration with DOC, our bird team used their skills and knowledge of hatching and hand-rearing rare native species in the past, to raise the chick at the zoo. Once it reached the right stage in it's development, the chick was taken to a pre-release aviary built by DOC staff where it could safely learn how to fish 'on the wing' before being released into the wild.
Watch the video to see the process from hatch to release unfold!
It's been a privilege for Auckland Zoo to work on this conservation project with DOC and they hope to build on this success in the future so that together they can reserve the fortunes of this nationally critical taonga.