Bird species NOT keept in walktrough aviaries

I've always wondered how these still work out. A lot of large storks (and cranes and herons) are certainly capable of inflicting serious damage if harassed or aggressive. I've been in walkthrough exhibits with Storm's and Abdim's storks as well as Gray-crowned cranes before and didn't really feel like they were an issue. I've been fairly close to species like Marabou and Saddle-bills, and certainly have a healthy respect for them.

 

River of Storks - ZooChat

Well somehow this is fine and don't have any issue.

 

@aardvark250 we're not talking about milk or yellow-billed storks, but large Marabous, Saddle-bill and Black-necked storks. Like @Great Argus , I've a healthy respect for those, also due to personal experience. I was attacked by a mean Saddle-bill stork and a friend of mine, who is a German zookeeper, got his skull so badly injured by an angry marabou that he had to go to the hospital.

 

So? I'm not sure how that makes a difference for Shoebill behavior.

 

Minimum management, REALLY bad conditions, and barely any caring. Horii is not only a roadside zoo it's the worst of the worst. in KAK they do have control over the exhibit and i'm pretty sure the keeper is much better.

 

Dierenpark Amersfoort has (or at least had a couple of years ago) marabous in their walk-through aviary "Snavelrijk", alongside vultures, pelicans and herons. To be honest marabous scare me a little and seem a bit risky for walk-throughs.

I saw a pair of white-naped cranes in the giant walk-through aviary at Pairi Daiza in september, and they were pretty close to the visitor area during one of my visits, and didn't seem concerned with visitors at all.

 

Avifauna (Netherlands) keeps Tawny Frogmouths in a mixed nocturnal walkthrough.

 

I have seen laughing kookaburras in a walk-through aviary with ibis, egrets and pheasants at Pakawi Park in Belgium. Although that zoo is perhaps not the best reference (and that specific aviary in particular is not).

 

After seeing what that marabou did to my friend, it doesn't just seem to be - it is. And I'm saying this as someone who is working with dangerous animals on a daily basis...

 

Honestly the marabou in that aviary seem used to guest of all sizes and are not as curious as you'd expect the species to be. There is even a kids climbing route through the aviary (far from the main route the adults get through the aviary).

I was surprised to get at eyelevel with those huge storks, and I do see why people be afraid of them, but they are pretty cute if given a chance!

 

My friend got a concussion and a permanent visible head scar from that marabou encounter. I somehow doubt he'd consider this as "cute" and is most definitively not giving this specimen another chance.

 

I was mostly speaking about that specific aviary walkthrough, as indeed I have seen many injured marabous that just fight frequently, and would understand it not being the friendliest species around.

 

Just imagine what their larger extinct "cousin" would have been like...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Naturewasm...ptilos_robustus_a_giant_marabou_stork_6_feet/

 

Greater Adjutants stand 6-12 inches taller and have a more massive bill than Marabou. Leptoptilos robustus was about the same size but built much heavier with more solid bones. If you want to see something that is really unique, check out this post I did a few years back of a Marabou/Greater Adjutant hybrid that lives at Bangkok Safari World in Thailand. I don't know if it's still around. Looks like its parents were possibly a male Marabou & female Adjutant?
Giant Stork (L. crumeniferus x L. dubius) Hybrid???

 

One of the two individuals at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm "Newman" was very much interested in my shoes on my last visit there. Now it's just "Old Man" and "Newman" moved to Lion Country Safari, FL this past spring. I'm planning on visiting Old Man over the holidays to see him in his full breeding plumage behind the glass. I think they're curious more than anything as I have seen numerous social media posts where their keepers or the public are close to them/petting and sometimes even hugging them. I'd love to hug one, but I'm probably in the small majority.

Amersfoort's Snalvelrijk aviary is on my list of zoos to visit. I like how they are able to successfully house Marabous, Yellowbills, Hamerkops, and pelicans without issue.

 

Was is more an irritated strike or obvious fully intentional jab attack? I know when handling Marabous and other large birds you usually net them or someone will grab the beak and hold it shut while another works on the bird. What dangerous species do you work with?

 

Like this: I remember seeing this in theaters as an 8-year-old and thinking "They look a lot like Marabous!" Clever work by the VFX artists and puppeteers!

 

Option B.

Enter "Welt der Gifte" at ZTL to see for yourself...
How to found a zoo - WdG Greifswald and WdG Salzburg [Welt der Gifte Greifswald (Closed)]