The Fort Worth Zoo is celebrating a major milestone!
The first-ever African fish eagle chick has hatched, marking a first in the Zoo’s 117-year history.
The species, known for its striking white head and powerful wingspan, is extremely difficult to breed in professional care, the zoo said. So, that makes this hatching a huge win not just for Fort Worth, but for zoos everywhere. Only five institutions currently house the African fish eagle.
According to zoo officials, Fort Worth is the only AZA-accredited institution to have successfully hatched an African fish eagle in recent years.
The chick arrived weighing just 76.5 grams, which is about the size and weight of a tennis ball, but has been growing fast. In only six weeks, it’s nearly reached its adult height, between 25 and 30 inches, and tips the scale at up to eight pounds, the zoo said. It’ll take a few more weeks before the bird’s brown and white plumage comes in fully.
This success didn’t come easy. The Zoo’s animal care and veterinary teams have been working for years to understand the specific needs of the species, from nest building and pairing to egg laying, incubation, and hatching. Because the parents were new to breeding, keepers made the careful decision to hand-rear the chick, giving it around-the-clock feeding and monitoring through its earliest stages.
To prevent the bird from imprinting on humans, keepers even used special shields, wore protective clothing, and employed an “adult eagle puppet” during feedings so the chick would associate mealtime with a fellow eagle, not a zookeeper.
Right now, the chick is being raised in a protected area within its parents’ habitat while it continues to grow strong enough to take flight, zoo officials said. In the wild, fish eagle chicks typically begin flying at around 70 to 75 days old and stay near their parents for a few months before venturing out on their own.