The Prague Zoo has bred a rare eagle parrot
Updates: 18.01.2021 13:07
Released: 18.01.2021, 13:07
Prague – The Prague Zoo has bred a rare parrot eagle. This is the first breeding of this bird species in a zoo in continental Europe, said Lucie Dosedělová, a spokeswoman for the Prague Zoo, in a press release today.
The cub was bred in the background at the Troja Zoo. It was viewed almost two months ago and currently weighs about 600 grams. The sex of the bird is not yet known. Breeders feed it every five hours, especially the fruit, which is the usual food for eagle parrots. That’s why only a short feather covers their heads so that the plumage is not contaminated by sweet fruit juices, the zoo said.
According to information on its website, the Prague Zoo has been breeding the Eagle’s Parrot as the only zoo in the Czech Republic since 2014. “At that time, it received its first birds from the Czech breeder Čestmír Drozdek, who is the most successful breeder of this species in the world in the last ten years,” she said. Dosedělová. They can be seen in the New Guinea exposition of the Reed Pavilion. In total, there are about 100 parrots in this pavilion and about 40 different species of other birds.
Adults of this bird species originating from New Guinea measure up to 50 centimeters. They are characterized by a black and red color and a vulture-like appearance.
The eagle’s trich is hunted by natives in the home rainforests of the lower parts of the New Guinea highlands. The reason is the leather and red feathers of the triches that the natives decorate their headbands with. “According to a recent survey by the Wildlife Conservation Society, eight percent of the population of eagle eaters are killed each year to meet demand,” said Miroslav Bobek, director of the Prague Zoo, to endanger the species in the wild. According to information on the website of the Prague Zoo, the eagle parrot is listed as a vulnerable species in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Troja Zoo was first opened to visitors on September 28, 1931. It is one of the most visited places in Prague. Last year, 851,623 visitors came there, ie almost 605,000 fewer people than in 2019. The zoo was closed to the public for 114 days due to coronavirus anti-epidemic measures, and traffic was limited on many other days of the year. Bobek estimated the loss at about 90 million crowns. Part was covered by the founder. Prague has previously allocated a subsidy of 45 million crowns to the garden. In 2020, 1,369 cubs of 216 species of mammals, birds and reptiles were born or hatched at the Prague Zoo.