Promising start of the breeding season 2018
Newsletter 07/05/2018
Since April 23rd, 33 Norther Bald Ibis chicks are hand-raised at Zoo Vienna by their two human foster parents Corinna Esterer and Anne-Gabriela Schmalstieg. Visitors of Zoo Vienna are able to watch the foster mothers at work; additionally, project team members are providing information about the European LIFE+ reintroduction project.
30 chicks come from the breeding colony of Tierpark Rosegg in Carinthia, the other three come from the breeding colony of the Konrad Lorenz research station in Upper Austria.
Anne and Corinna are hand-raising Northern Bald Ibis chicks for the fifth time in a row (2014-2018). In total, they raised 130 chicks so far.
The chicks hatch with a weight of around 20 grams. After 25 days, they already weigh around 1,200 grams, which is 60 times the weight of hatching. It is a really demanding period for the metabolism of the young birds, during which even small mistakes in feeding and keeping can lead to permanent physical and cognitive damage. Therefore, the extensive experience of the two foster mothers is crucial for the optimal development of the chicks.
When taken form their nests, the chicks shouldn´t be older than 10 days, otherwise the imprinting on their biological parents has already begun. During the first 5 to 6 weeks after adoption of the birds, the contact to them must be strictly limited to their foster parents. It is up to them to ensure optimal imprinting through regular social interactions with each individual. Thus, a long lasting social bond with the foster mothers is ensured, while the birds keep their distance to other humans.
Due to the long-lasting winter, the spring migration of our released Northern Bald Ibises was delayed by nearly two weeks. However, 16 individuals already arrived in one of the two breeding areas (Burghausen/Bavaria and Kuchl/Salzburg), another 15 birds are on their way. Seven pairs are already breeding. We assume that we´ll have 10 to 12 breeding pairs in total, and that more than 25 chicks will hatch this year. Looks like we´re heading for a record year!
Picture (I Hinterholzinger): Foster mother Anne taking over a chick at Zoo Rosegg. We would like to thank Tierpark Rosegg, particularly Lynne Hafner and Emanuel Liechtenstein, as well as the team of the Konrad-Lorenz Research Station Grünau for the provision of the chicks.
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