Chapter 98: Chapter 664: Not the Brightest Bird
The large wings were half-spread, twisting energetically!
The feathery "scarf" around its neck looked like it was about to fly off.
Playing a lively electronic dance track in the background would fit perfectly.
The visitors were stunned: "Why is it shaking like that?"
"Disco Pinecone Lightning Whip!"
"No wonder it's called the husky of the bird world!"
Someone asked the keeper, "What is it doing?"
The keeper wasn't entirely sure, as they hadn't been caring for it long enough to fully understand its temperament.
Based on their experience with other waterfowl, they guessed, "It might be trying to show dominance, indicating this is its territory and it doesn't want us too close. Let's step back a bit."
The visitors, understanding the situation, stepped back.
One curious visitor asked, "I heard shoebill storks are endangered because they're bad at catching fish. Is that true?"
The keeper chuckled and asked back, "What do you think?"
The visitor thought for a moment, "Haha, I don't know."
The keeper raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course not! Look at the shoebill stork's large beak. It's strong enough to catch African lungfish over 50 centimeters long, catfish, and even young Nile crocodiles and monitor lizards. It's actually a very fierce bird."
"Wow!"
"It even eats crocodiles! Even if they're small, that's impressive!"
Everyone was amazed.
"People might think it's a dumb bird because it stands still for long periods, like a statue.
But this is actually its hunting strategy, similar to herons. When it spots prey, it quickly strikes, diving into the water to grab it with its beak.
And the frequent eye-rolling might also make people think it's dumb.
But this is just its nictitating membrane, which many animals have to clean and protect their eyes.
For example, crocodiles open their nictitating membranes underwater to protect their eyes, like diving goggles, but theirs are transparent.
When the shoebill stork catches fish, this membrane closes to protect its eyes from water splashes and prevent injury from the fish.
So, it only seems dumb to us humans, but it's not actually dumb."
"Oh~"
The keeper continued, "There's no such thing as being endangered because it can't catch fish. That's like saying pandas are endangered because they're too lazy to mate. Every species that exists has strong survival abilities.
Some videos show shoebill storks struggling to catch small fish, but in the wild, they catch large fish over 50 centimeters long. Catching small fish is like us trying to pick up small beans with chopsticks; it's easier with larger items.
Then, some clickbait accounts spread misinformation, saying these birds are so dumb they can't catch fish and are going extinct due to their own incompetence. In reality, they're endangered because their wild habitats are being destroyed.
Look at the sharp, hooked tip of the shoebill stork's beak. It's very precise."
As they spoke, a mallard swam over to the floating log where the shoebill stork stood.
Flapping its wings, it climbed onto the log, seemingly to bask in the sun.
The shoebill stork immediately noticed and looked at it.
Suddenly, it jumped lightly beside the mallard, spreading its wings in a charging stance.
Lowering its head, it grabbed the mallard with its beak.
The mallard, dangling in mid-air, kicked frantically and quacked loudly!
"Oh!"
The visitors gasped in surprise!
The shoebill stork blinked its intelligent eyes, then let go, dropping the mallard in free fall, with a few feathers drifting down.
The mallard, likely in shock, quickly swam away, probably never daring to approach the shoebill stork again.
Yumiko patted her chest and exhaled, "I thought the duck was going to be eaten!"
The keeper explained, "The shoebill stork is a bit like the pelican, not only in appearance but also in behavior. They like to grab things with their beaks out of curiosity.
Although they occasionally eat birds, their main diet is fish.
We feed them fish regularly, so they won't eat birds, just nibble out of curiosity. Otherwise, we couldn't keep them with the ducks and mandarin ducks."
"Haha, I've seen a pelican swallow a swan's head and then spit it out, making the swan chase and peck it."
"Swallowing a swan's head is nothing; I've seen one grab a child's head."
"But honestly, the shoebill stork's grab was really swift! And its gaze was intense."
The visitors found it hard to imagine how such a seemingly dumb bird could hunt effectively, just by listening to the keeper.
But after seeing the shoebill stork grab the duck, they realized that although its movements weren't as swift as an eagle's lightning-fast dive, its large size allowed it to cover a lot of ground with each jump, and its beak was very precise.
It felt like watching Tai Chi, where the delayed action still hits the target perfectly.
Now, looking at the shoebill stork, its eyes seemed sharp, like a cold-blooded killer!
Their impression of it had completely changed.
Another visitor asked curiously, "I saw a video where a shoebill stork bows to people as a polite gesture. Is that true?"
The keeper laughed, "Why don't you try it and see for yourself?"
So, the visitor stepped forward and bowed to the shoebill stork.
Raising their head, they waited expectantly for it to return the gesture!
The shoebill stork tilted its head, staring at the visitor with intelligent eyes.
It seemed to say: Are you an idiot?
"Eh?" The visitor looked disappointed.
The keeper explained, "Bowing to people might happen if they were raised by humans from a young age and haven't seen other shoebill storks, so they think humans are their kind. This is how they communicate with each other.
For example, our Oriental storks bow and clatter their beaks when courting or being alert, which is quite noisy and fun to watch."
The shoebill stork stood on the floating log for a while, then slowly walked a few steps.
Suddenly, it seemed to notice something, spread its wings, and charged forward.
This time, it grabbed a piece of black wood from the water.
It tossed it back and forth in its beak, "crunching" it a few times, the tuft of feathers on its head bobbing with the motion.
Blinking and rolling its eyes.
Judging by its expression, the wood didn't taste good, so it let go.
With a "plop," the wood fell back into the water.
The shoebill stork picked it up again.
It was just playing with the wood!
But its clumsy appearance made it seem not very smart.
The visitors couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
Indeed, it was an adorably silly bird, no wonder it was so popular online.
Yumiko couldn't stop laughing and took many photos of the shoebill stork.
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