KEEPERS at Newquay Zoo are celebrating the birth of toucan chicks at the attraction, which is the first time that the species has bred on site in its 55-year history. 

The zoo has welcomed the arrival of three green araçari toucan chicks, one of the smallest members of the toucan family. 

The mother, who is 12 years old, has been at Newquay Zoo since 2017, while the young father arrived from Cotswolds Wildlife Park in February. The pair instantly hit it off, and after a period of courtship, the chicks hatched in late May.

All three chicks, two males and one female, have just fledged, meaning that they are now able to fly. 

Toucans, including green araçaris, are not only monogamous, but they also parent cooperatively. Both the males and females take turns incubating eggs, feeding their young, and caring for the fledgling birds once they start to venture out from their nest.

Dan Trevelyan, the senior animal keeper at Newquay Zoo, said: “It’s been a fantastic experience watching the chicks growing and changing day-by-day.

“When they first hatched, they looked a lot like dinosaurs, but now their feathers have grown in, and we’ve been able to identify the sexes of the chicks by the colours of their heads. Males have dark black neck and head feathers, whilst the females are reddish brown.”

Green araçaris come from the lowland forests of north-eastern South America, including Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. While they are not considered at risk in the wild, they are vulnerable to habitat loss through deforestation, and are also popular in the exotic pet trade. 

Newquay Zoo is part of Wild Planet Trust, a charitable organisation that aims to halt species decline through conservation and education, as well as conducting research projects on topics such as animal behaviour, nutrition, enrichment and ecology.