the worlds first!!! » Parc Paradisio

13-08-2008

Can you see them? Cool! In the nursery then i think?

13-08-2008

of course you can. how do you think jurgen got his pics? or we ours for that matter. you don't just walk into the nursery, especially not with a rare animal like that.

best chances are during feedings (which is about 2-3 times a day)

14-08-2008

If i look at this picture, http://davinia.nl/temp/schoenbek/schoenbek5.jpg, is seems that it was taken without any glass between the camera and the little one. That was the reason why i thougth that it wasn"t vieuwable for the ordinary visitors...

You are the "friends of Paradisio", so it could happend that you guys were behind the scenes

14-08-2008

we do "know the right people"
but that doesn't mean we go barging in everywhere.

with an animal as rare as this one, you tend to show a little respect.
knowing the people does give an advantage as to when is the best time for pics.

regarding picture quality. my girlfriend has published pics in international magazines, an aquarium book and on education signs in a dutch zoo. so I think she knows how to make a quality pic

26-08-2008

small update:

they're doing well and are still growing. this pic was taken about 10 days ago


meanwhile the oldest chick has been moved to a more spacious environment. you can still view him, but it takes some more effort. the smaller female will follow this or following week.

26-08-2008

Thanks for the great pictures and the update. How are the parents getting on with the second clutch?

26-08-2008

so far, they're showing excellent care for the eggs. not very surprising because this was also the case in 2006 when the egg turned out to be infertile.

let's hope that this clutch is viable too and they can care just as well for the young.

if all goes well, they should hatch first to second week of september.

27-08-2008

Forumbully, so you say Marqub is female ? What about Abu, may I ask ?

27-08-2008

male.

but I must say sexes are not 100% sure.
for some reason it has never been done before by shoebill chicks


so we'll see if they're right later on

27-08-2008

Oh, thank you anyways. Really great that a zoo finally succeed in having shoebill babies.....we have 5 shoebills here in Tokyo @Ueno Zoo but no one seems to feel good with each other. Really picky they are, that makes mating VERY difficult (of course environment is another big factor though).

Hoping updates of Abu and Marqub from you soon!

27-08-2008

I've had E mail contact with one of the curators there and seen various photos and a little film.

they have a nice exhibit, but my guess is the other birds and continuous competition make breeding difficult. also, if I remember correctly, it's a walk through exhibit.

if I see the behaviour the animals display here, during mating and nesting, they really like their "peace and quiet"

27-08-2008

It's not a walk through, and fairly enough space for just 2 shoebills but of course too small for 5 anyways, so they are devided into 2 groups (2 & 3) and go out to the aviary on a day-by-day rotating basis. Continuous competition - you know the situation in Ueno very well. It's not like the past lately, but still small conflicts (male chases female and bullys her as if he would like to kick her out) sometimes happen. I guess their youth might be one of the reasons (4 are yellow-eyed, and only 1 who came from Walsrode last summer have blue eyes), how do you think about it ?

Cheers,

27-08-2008

they birds at walsrode never liked each other at all. they were kept separately all the time. so they got a new male and the old one is now in Ueno (thx by the way, I never knew where it had gone to).

do you know how they divided the 2 groups? did they let the birds choose themselves?

28-08-2008

Grouping was made based on daily observation by the keepers therefore the members of each group are outdoor together but without forming any couples so far.
Group A: a young male and the youngest female. I personally guess this pair will get along (really hopefully).
Group B: the older male from Walsrode and 2 females, same time but in the divided area by sex. At first they were in the same area, but the male threatened females really strongly and the keeper had to separated them again to avoid possible trouble/accident happens. So you may say there are 3 groups rather than 2 in a way.
Oh it will be a long way.....

Updates about Abu and Marqub ?

28-08-2008

none since last sunday. and then they were doing great.

abu has been moved to a more spacious enclosure, marqub should follow later this or following week.