Photo: Shoebill, Dixie Sommers
The Shoebill: A Slippery Story
By Jessica Bigger
You’d think with a common name like the shoebill stork (Balaeniceps rex), this four-foot-tall monstrosity, with wings spanning seven feet across, would be in the stork family. It’s actually more closely related to pelicans. Some refer to this bird as the whale-headed stork or Abu-Markhub, which means “father of a slipper” in Arabic, because its bill looks like a large slipper. And if you think you can win in a staring contest with one of these guys, think again. Shoebills’ penetrating “death” stare will stop you dead in your tracks. They don’t talk much, but when they do, their machine gun clatter just might make you duck for cover.
These birds are so unique looking they have even been found on ancient Egyptian artwork. The Shoebill uses its clog-shaped bill to scoop up and decapitate its prey, as well as bring water to its chicks to keep them cool in the hot African sun. They’re fierce hunters, silently stalking their prey, until...WHAM, they swiftly lean their big head down and forward risking a tumble for a well-deserved snack. Shoebills aren’t picky, they’ll eat a wide variety of small prey, ranging from fish to amphibians. They’ve even snatched small reptiles like baby crocodiles when the opportunity arises. However, their favorite meal is lungfish.
Shoebills live in swamps and wetlands in remote parts of Northeastern Africa (Southern Sudan, Northern Uganda, Western Tanzania, Northeastern Zambia, Zaire and Rwanda) and their population has been drastically reduced due to illegal poaching, nest disturbance and habitat loss. Bird collectors, especially in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, will pay up to $10,000 for Shoebill eggs and live chicks. There are currently between 3300-5300 Shoebills left in the wild compared to 2008, where the numbers were around 5000-8000 birds. Consequently, they are listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which puts Shoebills among the 800 bird species that are on the IUCN “vulnerable” list as of December 2019.
The Shoebill’s population decline has not gone unnoticed. Several organizations have been working with locals to watch and monitor their nests. In Zambia, the nonprofit organization that manages the Bangweulu Wetlands partnered with Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to establish the Shoebill Guard Program in 2012. During the Shoebill’s breeding season (September – December), local fisherman head out into the field to monitor these giants’ nests. The program has also built more community awareness about these incredibly unique birds.
The importance of getting local community buy-in to protect any threatened or endangered avian species is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to reduce poaching and habitat loss for not only the Shoebill, but for so many other bird species across the globe.
Sources:
https://www.audubon.org/news/from-canoes-fishermen-guard-africas-famous-shoebills-against-poachers
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/shoebill
https://www.audubon.org/news/the-shoebill-or-most-terrifying-bird-world
https://www.birdlife.org/search-results?qx=shoebill#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=shoebill&gsc.page=1