Birdlovers Celebrate Hatching Of One Of ‘world’s Deadliest Chicks’
The birth of the Southern Cassowary chick is a major milestone for the Bourton-on-the-Water wildlife attraction – which has been trying to breed the giant birds on site for more than 25 years. BIRDLAND PARK & GARDENS…
The birth of the Southern Cassowary chick is a major milestone for the Bourton-on-the-Water wildlife attraction – which has been trying to breed the giant birds on site for more than 25 years. BIRDLAND PARK & GARDENS VIA SWNS.
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Bird keepers are celebrating the first-ever hatching of one of the ‘world’s deadliest chicks’.
In the Cotswolds, Birdland has announced its first-ever successful hatching of a southern cassowary chick – renowned as one of the world’s largest and most formidable flightless birds.
The birth is a major milestone for the Bourton-on-the-Water wildlife attraction – which has been trying to breed the giant birds on site for more than 25 years.
The chick, which is part of the European Endangered Species Programme, is only the fourth to hatch in Europe in 2024 and the firstborn in the UK since 2021.
The parents, a male from Avifauna in Alphen, Netherlands, and a female from Frankfurt, Germany, have been together at Birdland since 2012.
Keeper Alistair Keen said: “It has been a massive effort from the entire team here over many years, but it’s all been worthwhile when you see this amazing humbug-colored chick exploring its new surroundings under the watchful eye of a very protective father.
“Cassowaries have a reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous birds and their size, speed and power combined with their dagger-like, 10-centimetre claws mean we have to take looking after them extremely seriously.
“They are the only birds on-site that have their own risk assessment as they are potentially so hazardous.
“In order to avoid disturbing them during the incubation, we’ve been using video cameras to monitor the nest and when we caught our first glimpse of the tiny chick it was a very special moment indeed.”
