Khao Kheow Open Zoo announced today Thailand’s first successful artificial hatching of a greater adjutant chick, an endangered member of the stork family that has not been seen in the wild in the country for more than 40 years.
Narongwit Chodchoi, director of the zoo, said the chick, named “Tuam,” is 38 days old today. It was hatched in an incubator from the single egg laid by the zoo’s only breeding pair of greater adjutants.
He said the birds normally lay only one or two eggs annually, with a low survival rate under natural incubation. The zoo therefore opted for artificial incubation to increase the chances of a successful hatch. He added that this is the first greater adjutant chick hatched at the zoo and only the fourth successful artificial incubation of the species in the world.
Zoo officials discovered the egg on March 8 but decided to transfer it to an incubator after noticing that the parents were not incubating it continuously, which could have reduced the chances of a successful hatch.
Because the incubator was not equipped with an automatic egg turner, keepers had to turn the egg by hand at regular intervals for 34 days until it hatched on April 10.
The milestone hatching marks a first for the Zoological Park Organization of Thailand.
A zoo official said that when the chick was a few weeks old, its beak and legs began to bend, suggesting that it might be growing too quickly to support its own weight and could be suffering from calcium deficiency.
The chick has since been transferred to the organisation’s wildlife development control unit, where it is now under the care of specialists.
Suchart Chomklin hailed the successful hatching as a demonstration of the capability, determination and expertise of the Zoological Park Organization and its staff in wildlife conservation.
The greater adjutant is a large stork species that stands about 150 centimetres tall and has a wingspan of up to 270 centimetres.
The birds typically have a lifespan of about 40 years.
