![]() ![]() "The San Diego Zoo's wild animal park had one for many years who stood tall and unmoving on a little island near a restaurant for public viewing. Their usual fare includes several species of lungfish, Tilapia species, and catfish, as well as occasional frogs, lizards, water snakes, baby crocodiles and even rodents and smaller waterfowl. ![]() Unnoticed by their unlucky victim, the shoebill will then lunge onto the prey in a hunting technique called "collapsing," as described by National Geographic. Shoebills hunt by staying very still, keeping a watchful eye out for any prey. Stock image of a shoebill showing its massive wingspan. As mentioned above, the shoebill specializes in large prey, so they co-evolved themselves as well, becoming larger and larger. also, for moving in higher vegetation, and through reeds and papyrus, long legs are very helpful. Also, long thin legs could look like reeds, a strategy to trick prey into moving closer. "With long legs it allows the species to move into deeper water, thus avoiding competition with other species. "They have long legs, because like for example storks and herons, they sometimes wade through water to catch their prey," Ralf Mullers, an ecology lecturer at Van Hall Larenstein in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, told Newsweek. They are found across the swamps of tropical East Africa, ranging between South Sudan to Zambia. When their wings are fully extended, they can measure up to eight feet across. They stand between 3.5 and 5 feet tall, weigh between 11 and 13 pounds, and can live for up to 50 years in captivity. Shoebills, also known as the whalebill or by its scientific name Balaeniceps rex, are large water birds with huge paddle-like bills that open wide to reveal their huge mouths. iStock / Getty Images Plus / PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images) Shoebill Size and Height It is unlikely that this bird will be able to integrate fully back into the wild, but in its own small way Russik is contributing to raising awareness about the rare shoebill.A shoebill in Pairi Daiza animal park in Brugelette, western Belgium, on Aug(left) and a stock image of a shoebill opening its wide mouth (right). Communities are gradually realising that they share the swamps with a very special species. Russik plays a crucial role in raising awareness about wildlife in the local communities and is seen by passers-by daily. Russik has completely imprinted on humans, as it was taken from the nest from a very young age, but despite this it has adapted very quickly to life in the park. ZAWA’s Investigations and Intelligence Unit (IIU) confiscated Russik from the illegal wildlife trade and a year later it was brought to Bangweulu. Raising and releasing Seymour was a success, without a doubt, and the park expects that it will find a mate and breed successfully Seymour has adapted to life in the wild and most recently made an exploratory trip, leaving the swamps and flying downstream to the DRC side of the border and has subsequently returned and settled around Shoebill Island Camp. During Christmas 2014, Seymour was released back into the wild, with a transmitter fitted in order to ensure that the park has the ability to monitor and track it. Human-contact with Seymour was minimal to prevent imprinting, and resulted in the caretaker wearing a shoebill costume. In order to ensure shoebill nests are safe, Bangweulu employs local fisherman as "shoebill guards", to ensure chicks can fledge without human interference. The fisherman had heard that people were planning to steal the chick from its nest. Seymour, a shoebill chick, was brought to Bangweulu Wetlands by a concerned local community member. ![]()
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