An endangered arrival

Keepers are hand rearing an endangered Secretary Bird chick.

The chick, whose gender is not yet known, was born five weeks ago to seven-year-old Janine and dad Kevin, aged nine.

The birds are endangered, and Kevin and Janine are part of a breeding programme with a chick successfully reared last year now living in a zoo in Singapore.

Matt Hardy, Lead Keeper Lakes and Birds, explained why the keepers needed to look after the chick.

“The parents were having difficulties incubating their eggs this year and had a few eggs break or vanish. The egg was artificially incubated with the intention of returning it to the parents when hatching, but unfortunately, they had abandoned the nest at that point.

“When first hatched the chick was getting five-six feeds per day, but now that it has grown the feeds have reduced to three per day.

“The chick is thriving and we hope will be another successful addition to the breeding programme.”

In total eight chicks have hatched in the last 12 months in the programme; two at Longleat.

The species – Sagittarius serpentarius – is classed as endangered due to the large declines reported due to habitat degradation, hunting and trade.

Janine and Kevin have been at Longleat since 2018 and successfully reared their first chick in 2021. The average life span is 10-15 years for the bird.