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Marabou Stork

Marabou Stork

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Scientific Name:

Leptoptilos crumeniferus


Distribution

Africa (from Sahara desert to South Africa)


Diet:

Carnivore. Carrion, scraps of fish, live fish, termites, locusts, frogs, lizards, snakes, rats, mice and birds


Facts

Habitat: Open dry savannas, grasslands, swamps, riverbanks, lake shores, receding pools where fish are concentrated

 

Incubation: 30 days, 2-3 eggs/season


Social structure: groups 20-60 individuals up to several thousands


Weight: max 9 kg


Dimensions: height: ~1,5 m, wingspan: ~2,6 m


Lifespan:  25 years , 44 years in human care


IUCN Status: Least Concern


Estimated population in the wild: Unknown, increasing


Threats: Hunted and traded at traditional medicine markets in Nigeria


Did you know that:

  1. The males, after establishing a territory and building a nest, attract the females by inflating the throat pouch, dancing and clattering the bill.  When approached, males respond aggressively and females react submissively so that a bond might be established. 
  2. They defecate on their legs in order to keep cool during the day, and that’s where they get the white color on their legs which are normally black. This is called urohydrosis.



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