Two critically endangered female blue-billed curassows born at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., announced that 2 female critically endangered blue-billed curassows were born. The first chick, Aluna, hatched on August 5, 2022, while her sister, Lulo, hatched on August 28, 2022. The chicks are the first offspring of Jackie, their 6-year-old mother. The 16-year-old father, JB, also fathered chicks at another institution.

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

According to an organizational release,¹ keepers note the sisters are doing well and described them as “confident and curious” as they are being monitored off exhibit.

While Jackie arrived at the zoo in 2016, JB arrived there in 2019, after a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP). Female curassows usually incubate their eggs for 29 to 31 days, but in this case, Jackie did not display interest in incubating her eggs. Thus, it was clear to the team that she would not accept or bond with her chicks, so they put the eggs in an incubator.

Keepers decided to hand-raise Aluna and Lulo to offer them the best chance of survival. They imprinted, or socially bonded, with the animal care team, and received adult feathers to cuddle under and a mirror that provides “socialization” when keepers are away.

“Every moment with these chicks has been a dream come true for me,” said Heather Anderson, animal keeper, in the release. “I have had the goal to breed the blue-billed curassow since my first year of zookeeping. It was amazing to watch these precocial birds as their instinctual abilities to eat, perch and preen their feathers kicked in—all in the first day of life! For other bird species, those milestones could take weeks to achieve.”

Blue-billed curassows are native to Colombia and deemed critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature. It’s estimated that 1,000 and 2,500 remain in the wild, according to the release.¹ These birds once resided throughout northern Colombia, but currently the entire wild population lives in just several small areas of tropical lowland forest. Their primary threats include habitat loss and fragmentation.

Reference

Two critically endangered blue-billed curassows hatch at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. News release. Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. August 29, 2022. Accessed September 1, 2022. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/two-critically-endangered-blue-billed-curassows-hatch-smithsonians-national-zoo-and