Two Marabou stork have recently arrived and can now be seen in the bird enclosure (which keepers call Marabou Mansions) opposite the giraffe house.

The birds - a two year old male bred at Dvur Králové Zoo, Czech Republic and a year old female bred at Noorder Dierenpark (Emmen Zoo), Netherlands - have come to us on breeding loan from Edinburgh Zoo.

The storks share Marabou Mansions with little egret, black crowned night heron, waldrapp and sacred ibis. ‘Mr Bou’ our male Marabou stork who has lived at Marwell for 10 years has moved to new enclosure (opposite the Scimitar horned oryx) while the birds settle in.

Prior to the new arrivals Marwell has 12 kept marabou, the first arrived in May 1982. Common in Africa (south of the Sahara) these birds have proved difficult to breed in captivity as they were often kept in paddocks with hoof stock (an environment which is not particularly conducive to their needs) and they can also be aggressive to each other. To increase the breeding success rate it is also important to match pairs together with similar ages.

Marabou stork are sometimes referred to as ‘Undertaker birds’ because of dark wings clothing their stooping backs. Hence they are not the prettiest birds in the world. However, they are characters and Marwell keepers have grown to love them of the years.  

7th June 2008

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