A Southern ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) chick is now being raised by its parents at Prague Zoo following a carefully managed partial hand-rearing programme.
Hatched in April, the young bird was initially cared for by zoo staff before being gradually reintroduced to its family, a process designed to prevent human imprinting while restoring the natural bond between chick and parents.
Breeding Southern ground-hornbills is particularly challenging, and Prague Zoo has a long history with the species: in 1994, it achieved the first successful breeding in Europe. According to the zoo, only six other chicks are currently being raised in European zoos this year.
“This is a partially artificial rearing, because in the past the male repeatedly destroyed the eggs that had been laid. Shortly before hatching in April, we therefore replaced the egg with a dummy and placed the real egg in an incubator,” explains Antonín Vaidl, Prague Zoo’s bird curator. The female continued incubating the dummy egg and maintained her natural nesting behaviour.
After around a month, once the chick was stable and feeding well under the care of the zoo’s experienced bird keepers, the process of returning it to its parents began.
“After about a month, when the chick was stable and feeding well thanks to the care of our experienced bird keepers, we returned it close to its parents in the upper part of the zoo. That was when the young team of ungulate keepers came into play,” Vaidl explains.
The chick was placed inside a specially designed shelter protected by two barriers, keeping it safe while allowing a gradual introduction to its parents. During the first few weeks, keepers continued feeding the youngster, mainly with newborn rats and mice alongside a varied selection of fruit, including apricots, bananas, figs, mango and papaya.
Keepers Elena Kulhavá and Veronika Doležalová, who usually work with giraffes and antelopes, played a key role in caring for the unusual addition.
“Elena Kulhavá and Veronika Doležalová, who normally take care of giraffes and antelopes, thoroughly enjoyed looking after such an unusual charge. There is certainly no harm in experiencing the care of animals completely different from those we are used to. Every such experience makes us better keepers,” says Aleš Doležal, Prague Zoo’s head ungulate keeper.
Reuniting the chick with its parents
At around 65 days old, the process entered a crucial stage. The first barrier was removed, allowing the parents to feed their chick themselves. After several weeks of becoming accustomed to the youngster and hearing its natural calls, the adults immediately took over feeding duties.
A week later, the second barrier was removed, allowing the breeding pair to enter the shelter completely and eventually lead their offspring outside.
“Introducing such a large chick back to its parents is a unique method that we have already applied to several bird species. In this way, we eliminate imprinting, in other words the chick becoming imprinted on humans,” Vaidl explains.
By the end of July, the youngster was strong enough to follow its parents outside and capable of flying up to the highest perches. Keepers therefore released the three birds into the spacious outdoor habitat, which they share with waterbucks (Kobus ellipsiprymnus).
The introduction went smoothly, and the still immature-looking youngster can now be seen exploring its surroundings under the supervision of its parents, Vendulka and Vendelín.
More than 30 years of breeding history
The first Southern ground-hornbills arrived at Prague Zoo in 1954, although the initial breeding effort was short-lived. Another pair arrived in 1984, and the species has been continuously kept at the zoo ever since.
The first chick hatched in 1994, marking the first successful breeding of the species in Europe. Remarkably, the chick born the following year is still living at Prague Zoo: Vendelín, now 31, is the father of the current youngster. To date, Prague Zoo has successfully raised 16 Southern ground-hornbill chicks.
The Southern ground-hornbill is the largest and heaviest of the world’s hornbills. Despite a wingspan that can reach around 170 centimetres, it spends much of its time walking across grasslands and savannas in search of large insects and small vertebrates.
Native to eastern and southern Africa, the species is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and its population is declining. Habitat loss and transformation, persecution and poisoning are among the pressures affecting the species across its range.
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