GROUNDBREAKING research is being conducted at the Umgeni River Bird Park. This is because the iconic bird park has welcomed a new member to their flock in the form of a Black Casqued Wattle Hornbill chick.
The two month old chick is the first successfully captive bred bird of the species in KwaZulu-Natal. The failure rate for breeding this specific hornbill in captivity is so high that there have only been five born in South Africa and 26 that are known of, globally.
Tarryn Bristow (curator for birds) and Grant Agett-Cox (education and marketing manager) are now looking to write a paper on the hornbill, monitoring everything about the chick. However because of the low success rate, they are not out of the woods yet since the chick is still only in the fledgling phase which lasts three months.
Very little is known about the Black Casqued Wattle Hornbill’s breeding patterns. The females block themselves off from the world in a nest they build out of mud, dung and other organic matter, making a pod.
The success for the pair of hornbills mating is given to the curator, Bristow, who adapted the female’s diet to mimick the change in nutrition that occurs naturally in the wild. Bristow said, “During changes in the seasons, the females take in more protein in their diet before the mating season. So I decided to replicate this natural occurrence with her.”
