The recent hatching of a Critically Endangered Ruppell’s griffon vulture at the London Zoo is celebrated by its keepers.
This is the first vulture born at the zoo in over four decades. The chick was born weighing just 115g, which is equivalent to the weight of a bar of soap. The zookeepers had an eventful start as Philomena, the chick’s mother, had previously laid an egg that never hatched due to her leaving it for long periods. To increase the chick’s chances of survival, the team moved the new egg, which they nicknamed ‘Egbert,’ to a special vulture incubator while a wooden dummy egg was placed into the nest for Philomena to sit on.
See the video below courtesy of Zoological Society of London:
Egbert hatched in early March and has been hand-fed four times a day while a surrogate cuddly toy owl was provided in his incubator. The zoo’s vet team will send a feather off for DNA testing to determine the chick’s sex once it has fledged. Ruppell’s griffon vultures are known for being the world’s highest-flying birds, having soared up to 10 973 meters above sea level. The chick’s adorable antics will surely make for a joyful Easter at the Zoo.
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