UK: Rare ‘dinosaur’ bird settles into new home at Exmoor Zoo

UK: Rare ‘dinosaur’ bird settles into new home at Exmoor Zoo

Rare dinosaur bird brought to UK to save species
An extremely rare 'dinosaur' bird is patiently waiting for a lifelong mate to help save her entire species.

Her name is Abou, one of the last female shoebills in the world, and she has recently arrived at Exmoor Zoo as part of an international breeding programme to save her species.

There are only eleven shoebills left in the world currently in captivity - and Abou is the only one in the UK.

A rare "dinosaur" bird has been brought to a zoo in the UK as part of an international breeding programme to save her species.

Abou, a 14-year-old female shoebill, was born at a zoo in Belgium and has been transported to Exmoor Zoo to wait while the programme matches her with a male bird to mate with.

There are only 3,300 to 5,300 shoebills left in the wild thanks to habitat loss and climate change.

'Abou' is magnificent to behold,” Derek Gibson, curator at Exmoor Zoo said.