Animal Diaries Archive

How Is Fud's Training Going?

2 July 2004

With each week that passes now, we will be increasing the size of our free-flying family. Currently the show is based around raptors and parrots, but these are not the only bird species on this planet. In Australia alone we have over 500 different individual species. With this in mind, our family is now branching out with the introduction of Fud. Fud is a White-faced Heron who will be featured in this week's animal profile. He has proven to be a very fast learner, beginning his free flight career after less than three weeks training. We have also been busy hand-raising a Red-collared Lorikeet chick, and a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo chick who will also be flying free very quickly. You may remember Queto and Reo, the two young Macaws. They too are continuing their training, this week starting on their jesse work. It should not be long now until they do their first show.

Fud – White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Fud, or Fudley as he is also known, has been with us here at the Zoo for just under two years now and started his time down in the Wetland exhibit. These days due to this species being fiercely territorial and local to the area, Fud could no longer live in the open air Wetland exhibit. The resident wild herons did not take to sharing their space and set out to make life difficult for him, so he was moved into an off-display aviary where he became quite friendly towards staff. With this being a promising sign, Fud was allowed to grow his flight feathers back and join the free flight team. He now does a daily demonstration and enjoys nothing more than wading through the shallows of the Crocoseum's lovely heated pond and showing the public what White-faced Herons are all about.

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