1994 Southern ground hornbill

Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

First to be bred in Europe

Although this robust African bird was not unusual in zoos, reproduction was elusive. The first southern ground hornbill came to Prague Zoo way back in 1954, however, it was the birds that arrived thirty years later that founded the breeding programme. They both came from the wild and became the parents of the first ever chick, which delighted the keepers in 1994. The male died that year, but the female was soon joined by a new partner, also from the wild.

The new pair nested in the wintering area, where they had a box with a short entrance corridor. By 1995, the hornbills had successfully raised a male, who still lives in the zoo today and he too became a father in 2010. This was the first time they had been bred naturally in a European zoo and in all 13 young have been raised so far.