3 Rare Maleo Chicks Hatched at Bronx Zoo

Three rare maleo chicks were hatched successfully after 70 days of carefully controlled incubation at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.

Maleo birds are monogamous and are generally found on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. In recent years, the population of the maleos has declined due to habitat loss, limited range and high chick mortality; hence they have been listed as 'endangered' by the International Union of Conservation and Nature. Their egg is five times larger than that of a domestic chicken. Currently, the Bronx Zoo is home to nine maleos.

Maleos are unique because unlike other birds that sit on their eggs to keep them unhatched, the maleos bury their eggs in mounds of decaying matter or other geothermal sources such as warm sand. They belong to the members of megapode that do not use body heat to incubate their eggs. Once the egg is laid, it is dug and transferred into the incubation space.

"We've bred thousands of different birds but the maleos are the species we're the most proud of. Maleos are extremely rare. Their land is encroached upon and their eggs are hunted for food," said Mary Iorizza, collections manager at Bronx Zoo, in a YouTube video, reports Nature World News.

At the Bronx Zoo, maleos are given deep river sand that is heated electrically in order to provide a warm nesting ground for the bird. With the help of surveillance cameras, the keepers keep a watch on the nesting areas so that the moment an egg is laid they can dig it out and transfer it to the incubation room, the Wildlife Conservation Society Officials were quoted as saying in LiveScience.

The incubation period for maleos is quite lengthy, therefore the chicks hatched are big enough to find their way out, fly and fetch their food. Though they may not look like an adult maleo, they are capable enough to regulate their body temperature without parental care.

The three maleo chicks born at Bronx Zoo are healthy and are located in an off-exhibit zone of the zoo.