Our Blue crane pair, Cecil and Sapphire successfully laid an egg which on the 24th June hatched and gave us a chick! Now a few months old the young bird is doing well and its parent’s previous experience of looking after young has meant that they have once again raised a strong healthy chick.
The chick can be seen venturing outside, exploring its new surroundings with mum and dad at the Edge of Africa!
Unlike most birds, Blue cranes lay their eggs in the grass or on bare ground and incubate them for around 30 days with the young becoming fully fledged at around 4 months after hatching.
Our Blue cranes are fed a special diet which is scattered around their enclosure once a day but they also rely on the worms and insects in their home that they spend time foraging for. This is great enrichment for them and encourages them to use behaviours as they would in the wild.
Blue cranes are currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list; this is due to the increase in the population and developments within their habitat.