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An African fish eagle chick is fed by a zookeeper at the Fort Worth Zoo. The chick is the first of its species to be hatched in the zoo\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth Zoo<\/p>\n
An African fish eagle chick has hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo, the first-ever hatching of that species in the zoo\u2019s 117-year history, zoo officials announced Thursday.<\/p>\n
The species is \u201cnotoriously difficult to breed and hatch in professional care,\u201d and the zoo is among an \u201cexceptionally small\u201d number of institutions to succeed with the task in recent years, officials said.<\/p>\n
The chick weighed 76.5 grams when it hatched. It is roughly the size of a tennis ball, and over six weeks has grown to its full size of 25-30 inches tall and 5-8 pounds. In a few more weeks, the chick will develop its full white and brown adult plumage.<\/p>\n
Because the parents of the eagle chick were first-timers, zookeepers elected to raise the chick by hand, according to a statement. To ensure the chick didn\u2019t imprint (irreversibly bond) with zookeepers, staff wore reflective shields and protective clothing during feeding, and used an adult eagle puppet so that the chick would associate food with the adult eagle.<\/p>\n
For now, the chick is housed in a protective space in its parents\u2019 habitat and zookeepers are caring for the bird until it grows large enough to fly and fledge its nest.<\/p>\n
Only four other zoos on the continent house this species of eagle, officials said.<\/p>\n
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