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Watch our Wattled Cranes’ grow!
Meet Rocky, Impi and Crystal, three of Joburg Zoo’s six
hand reared Wattled crane chicks for 2011. Each has
their own unique personality and story. With less than
260 individual Wattled Cranes left in South Africa,
these chicks are critical for the survival of the
species and are lovingly raised by a dedicated group of
zoo staff and volunteers.
The Johannesburg Zoo is the managing partner of the
Wattled Crane Recovery Programme which aims to prevent
the local extinction of the Wattled Crane in South
Africa by rearing Wattled Cranes under human care and
releasing their offspring back into the wild. The
Johannesburg Zoo has a hand rearing facility where newly
hatched chicks are reared in such a way that they
develop appropriate social skills that enable them to
recognize and interact with their own species when they
are old enough to breed.
Rocky and Impi hatched in late June from abandoned
eggs collected from the wild in a nesting site near Mooi
River, in the Natal Midland region of KwaZulu Natal. The
eggs were hatched by an aviculturist in KwaZulu Natal
and at only a few days old the chicks were flown to
Johannesburg to be reared at the Johannesburg Zoo’s hand
rearing facility. On arrival the two chicks weighed only
126g (Rocky) and 118g (Impi) and were only just learning
to walk. Another special chick who hatched in August is
Crystal who came from the Underberg region of Kwazulu
Natal, in Southern Drakensberg. Weighing only 88g,
Crystal is the smallest crane chick the zoo keepers have
cared for and has been given special care to ensure she
grows up strong and healthy.
The chicks surrogate
parents follow a tried and trusted protocol when raising
these cranes from tiny and sensitive chicks to strong
bold adults. The most important part of the process is
ensuring the chicks to understand that they are Wattled
Cranes and not humans. Human foster parents must dress
up in white coats, wear special puppets which look like
a Wattled Crane’s head and make chirping noises which
mimic the call of an adult crane.
Since coming to the zoo, Rocky and Impi have formed
a close friendship and although they hatched only a few
days apart, the two are very different in both size and
personality. Rocky is taller and more laid back crane,
while Impi is smaller and can be fussy at times. Yet the
two personalities balance and on their daily walks
around the brooder room (the name of the zoo’s avian
breeding facility) and are inseparable. It is incredible
to think how fast they have grown and at 80 days old
Rocky weighs over 4kg while Impi is just under 3kg.
Similarly, at just over one month old, Crystal now
weighs over 800g which is 10 times its hatch weight.
Crystal is very important to the endangered species
breeding programme because it is the first chick to come
from a population in the Underberg, an area in KwaZulu
Natal where eggs are rarely collected. Due to the
critically small wild population eggs collected from new
nesting areas are important for the genetic health of
the captive population.
Rocky, Impi and Crystal
are only three of over 20 Wattled cranes which have been
successfully reared to sub-adulthood at the Johannesburg
Zoo since 2006. Sub-adults will pair off at
approximately 2 to 3 years old and by the time they are
sexually mature at 6-7 years they will join the captive
breeding programme where eventually their offspring will
be released into the wild.
To support the
Johannesburg Zoo’s conservation effort you can “Adopt a
Crane”. For more information on adoption packages
contact
Ioanna@jhbzoo.org.za.
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