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Rewilding Britain’s skies: Cotswold Wildlife Park helps bring back a flying icon not seen in the UK since the 15th century
Once a common sight in the skies across Britain, White Storks disappeared back in the 1400s. Habitat loss, over-hunting and the fact that they often featured as a delicacy on the menus of medieval banquets all contributed to their demise. Their future looked bleak and it appeared inevitable that the sight of Storks gracing Britain's skies would forever be confined to history books.
Thanks to a pioneering rewilding scheme, hope is on the horizon that these graceful birds may soon make a spectacular return. For the eighth year running, Cotswold Wildlife Park has successfully bred chicks for the White Stork Project (which aims to re-establish a wild, breeding population of White Storks with at least 50 breeding pairs across the south of England by 2030). This year was the most successful breeding season in the Park's history, with a record-breaking 48 chicks reared. They hatched in May and were recently transferred to Sussex for release into the wild.
The Park's keepers act as "fairy godmothers" to the chicks and do everything from providing sticks for the adults to build their nests with in the depths of winter to 'assist feeding' the tiny chicks when they hatch in May. This year, for the first time, keepers captured the moment the chicks hatched and poked their beaks and delicate wings through their egg shells. They also filmed keepers 'assist feeding' the incredibly vocal chicks. One of the most fascinating aspects of the breeding programme is the history of their parents. The chicks are bred from rehabilitated injured birds from the wild that, unfortunately, could not be released due to their disabilities which would have affected their chances of survival in the wild. The rescued birds came to Cotswold Wildlife Park from Warsaw Zoo in Poland where they have been given a home. These rehabilitated birds will play a vital role in rewilding Britain's skies with their offspring - a sight not seen since the 15th century.
These birds are adored in Europe with people even inviting them into their homes for shelter in bad weather (more info attached). We're hoping this adoration for them spreads to Britain when they return to our skies in the very near future.