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ZOO NEWS
There's always a new story to tell at Colchester Zoo, from welcoming new arrivals, to exciting things to see and discover.
Our Crowned crane chicks continue to grow!
During early August 2016 Colchester Zoo’s Crowned Crane welcomed 2 healthy chicks. They were safely incubated by mum, Camilla and dad, Charles, for 4 weeks. The chicks can be seen exploring their new home at our ‘Edge of Africa’ section which they share with our Kirk’s Dik-Dik. The chicks have now also been sexed after their feathers were sent off for DNA testing and it has confirmed that we have one male and one female. Keepers have named them Rosalind and Arthur!
Crowned cranes are known for the distinctive crest of golden feathers which sit on top of their head and a bright red pouch that hangs from their throat. The crowned crane lays the largest average clutch size of a crane species and chicks are expected to fledge after 56 to 100 days.
Our crowned cranes are fed on a special diet which is scattered around their enclosure once a day, their enclosure also provides a lot of their food in the form of worms and insects which live in the grass and vegetation which they spend a lot of time foraging for.
Crowned cranes are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN red list; so these 2 new arrivals are fantastic news for their species.
Find out more about adopting one of our Crowned Cranes here.
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OPENING TIMES
5.00pm close or dusk if earlier
Last admission to zoo grounds at 4.00pm
Click here for further closing times
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