FACTS ABOUT THE SHOE BILL STORK
Facts About the Shoe Bill Stork : The shoebill stork is an interesting bird species that has been described as one of the most terrifying bird species in the world. The shoe bill stork can be found in Akagera national park in Rwanda which you can see when you participate in a number of activities like the game drives in Akagera national park, bird watching safaris in Rwanda and many top tourism activities in Rwanda 2021 in areas where you can find marshes and swamps. Visiting Akagera national park will not only give you the chance to understand the behaviour of the shoe bill stork but also give you rewarding views of the animal species that can be seen when you take part in the different activities in Akagera national park for a rewarding Rwanda tour as you also learn the interesting facts about the shoe bill stork as explained below;
Facts
The bill looks like a shoe
When you get in close contact with the shoe bill stork, you will get to understand where the name comes from because its bill/ beak looks like a shoe which is one of the major reasons why it’s a famous bird species with a weird looking beak that makes it quite interesting to look at. The bill of the shoe bill stork is so strong that it decapitates a six-foot lung fish which is quite interesting and one of the reasons it is often compared to a dinosaur.
The dominant bird will chase away the siblings
Interesting about the shoe bill stork is the fact that when the young ones are hatched, the dominant/ the oldest of the babies will poke and chase away the weaker birds so as to gain the attention of the mother. So that when the mother gets to the nest she will offer extra attention to it and feed it water using its bill. The shoe bills are also quite intelligent species that can be seen when you visit the Uganda wildlife education centre where a one shoe bill stork called sushi who bows back to tourists that bow to him and let them touch him and if the tourists don’t bow to him he won’t let them touch him which is quite fascinating.
They can stand for hours motionless
The shoe bill stork can stand for hours motionless staring in one direction without making any movement this help it to keep an eye on its prey and help to catch it as fast as possible without having to miss. Among the water birds, the shoe bill stork is a such a great hunter that it can use its strong bill to decapitate its prey and also provide water to its young ones to help them cool off from the scotching sun.
Poop on them selves
The shoe bill storks have been seen pooping on themselves which might seem disgusting but it is quite helpful trait that they use to cool off themselves during the hot seasons, the species practice urohydrosis which involves them defecating on their legs to lower their body temperature. Despite the fact they can be seen as disgusting species, they are worthy of 1000 of dollars because of their unique strength and their interesting looks which has increased the smuggling practises against it where a number of locals capture them and sell them to rich people that take them to private zoos and sanctuaries to earn them more money.
It can provoke crocodiles
They are quite aggressive species and they can take on any big of a challenge like baby crocodiles, lungfish fish Nile monitor lizard. Because of its strong beak it has led the shoebill stork to attack the crocodiles which are among the scariest creatures and snack on them making them quite terrifying species that you can come across when you participate in birding in Rwanda.
For tourists interested in visiting and learning more about the bird species, you should check out the Akagera national park fees where you can book for bird watching permit to have the chance to see the endangered bird species. Other activities aside from birding in Rwanda where you will get to understand more about the endangered shoebill stork include; golden monkey trekking, hike mount bisoke, participate in the boat cruise on lake Ihema, game drives in Akagera national park, you can also track the big five animals in Rwanda and gorilla trekking in Rwanda and many other top tourist activities in Rwanda which will give you the chance to understand more about the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, therefore book and visit Rwanda for you not to miss out on the rewarding and quite thrilling experiences that will make your safari quite memorable.
