New Arrivals Among Endangered Species at the Hoyerswerda Zoo

The Sunda hornbill chick has left its nest for the first time at the Hoyerswerda Zoo. / Photo: ---/Hoyerswerda Zoo/dpa

Three endangered bird species have all had chicks at the Hoyerswerda Zoo. One of them raises its chicks in a particularly unusual way.

Hoyerswerda Zoo is currently welcoming several new feathered arrivals: chicks have hatched among the Sunda hornbills, snowy owls, and Manchurian cranes. According to the zoo, all three species are endangered, so these new arrivals are also important for species conservation.

The oldest of the new arrivals are the Sunda hornbills. The chick hatched on May 20 but has only just left the nesting cavity. Hornbills have unusual breeding behavior: During the breeding season, the male seals the female inside the nesting cavity with clay and feeds her through a narrow slit. Only when the chick is large enough is the opening broken open again.

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Chicks Grow at Different Rates

Significantly younger are the two snowy owl chicks that hatched on July 3, as well as the Manchurian crane chick from July 5. For the snowy owl pair, this is their first brood together. According to the zoo, the young Manchurian crane in particular is growing rapidly. It doubled its birth weight within a week and must become capable of flight quickly, because the species migrates to its wintering grounds as early as fall in its native East Asia.

DNA testing will be conducted later to determine whether the chicks are female or male.