New additions are regularly celebrated at Zoo Atlanta but there’s an especially exciting newcomer this season.
For the first time in the zoo’s history, an endangered lappet-faced vulture chick has hatched. This is a success over 10 years in the making for parents Amana and Anubis.
“The birth of an endangered species is always an occasion for celebration, but this hatching represents a particular success for Zoo Atlanta,” Jennifer Mickelberg, Ph.D., Vice President of Collections and Conservation, said in a press release. “We are always thrilled to see first-time animal parents succeed. This is also a testament to the enormous commitment of our Bird Team, who have worked over a period of many years to provide opportunities and innovations to help this pair flourish.”
Anubis, a 16-year-old male, has lived at Zoo Atlanta since 2008. Amana, now 18, joined Anubis in 2010 on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. The hatching is significant as the pair previously had many unsuccessful breeding attempts. In eight years, they’ve had 12 infertile eggs.
Since Amana and Anubis were inexperienced parents, zookeepers took the egg to an artificial incubator. It was replaced with a “dummy” egg so the vultures could continue to act on incubation behaviors. The chick hatched on April 24. After 10 days of precautionary hand-rearing, the team reintroduced it to its parents. Amana and Anubis are appropriately caring for the chick.
The successful chick hatching is crucial since the lappet-faced vulture is endangered.
“Widespread accidental poisoning, largely due to strychnine, used by many farmers for predator control, and more recently carbofuran, has contributed significantly to declines,” National Geographic reported. There are also only 5,700 mature individuals.
Zoo Atlanta visitors won’t be able to see the chick just yet. But they can see it behind the scenes on Facebook and Instagram.
