Standing Tall with Milky Stork Conservation

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Rich Schwartz.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: When is the World? Marco Wentz.

00:00:07
Speaker 3: Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studio and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization which oversees the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park.

00:00:25
Speaker 4: Rick, there is a lot of anticipation about a big black and white mammal let us come in to live here at the San Diego Zoo. But you know, I am really excited that in this episode we are going to be focusing on a mostly white but with some black flight feathers avan friend.

00:00:45
Speaker 1: Oh, I know, Marco, It's true.

00:00:47
Speaker 3: We will be talking a lot more about that black and white bear you alluded to, but for now, I can't wait to wade into the mangroves of Southeast Asia to learn more about your carnivorous feathered friend.

00:01:00
Speaker 2: I love that you said carnivorous.

00:01:02
Speaker 4: I mean because a lot of people don't usually think of storks as being carnivorous, but they totally are.

00:01:07
Speaker 3: Well, you know, I have to be honest when I was a kid. If I ever thought about a bird hunting prey, I always thought of like eagles, hawks or falcons, But it never really occurred to me that storks and many other bird species that hunt and eat prey as well, well, therefore they're carnivores.

00:01:21
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's totally right, and it is one of the amazing facts that we will learn today. And I know a lot of people know about the conservation works surrounding the California condor.

00:01:31
Speaker 3: Oh, yes, the California condors are a conservation story that is well known, but that's not the story we're sharing today.

00:01:37
Speaker 4: Right, absolutely, right of MeeGo, because there are some cool parallels with how we work saving this species and.

00:01:43
Speaker 2: What would he have done with the California condor?

00:01:45
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, okay, So just a quick review here. Today we're learning about a mostly white feathered friend.

00:01:51
Speaker 2: With black flight feathers.

00:01:53
Speaker 3: Yes, that's not easy to say with black flight feathers. It's a carnivore or meat eating bird, and it's some sort of stork. Did I get it all?

00:02:01
Speaker 2: You absolutely did.

00:02:02
Speaker 4: Send you have very nice to say that, and without further delay, I want to invite you and our listeners to a very special place at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to learn more about the milky stork.

00:02:14
Speaker 1: Right on.

00:02:17
Speaker 5: I am Miranda Essenson, and I am a senior wildlife care specialist here.

00:02:21
Speaker 6: At the Safari Park.

00:02:22
Speaker 4: Miranda, we are so stoked to be here with you. Thank you for taking the time.

00:02:25
Speaker 2: By the way, absolutely right.

00:02:27
Speaker 4: And before we get going, though, I want to kind of describe where we're at because we're in a unique place.

00:02:31
Speaker 2: We've never recorded here before.

00:02:33
Speaker 4: We are at the Bird Conservation Center right here at the Safari Park. And if guests aren't aware, you know, the park is eighteen hundred acres and all our guests can access about half of our wonderful conservation park. But there's some areas, you know, for conservation purposes, breeding purposes that guests cannot access right and this area happens to be one of them. And we are sitting in the grass and next to some beautiful little swan geese and this beautiful pond area and probably in my opinion, the best aviary that is in the Safari Park, and this and Diego Zoo.

00:03:00
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I pop in real quick.

00:03:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know you have tons of facts about there, but just to paint a picture for our guests. Yeah, I view right now, there's a pond. We're under the shade of a tree. There's these grasses that are looking anywhere from four to six feet in height. The swan geeseter bias, like you said, often the distance. There's a stork, and there's a few other species in here. But Mark, I know you know you have the information.

00:03:22
Speaker 2: Oh we're here.

00:03:24
Speaker 5: I love it.

00:03:25
Speaker 4: You guys, well, you know the geese really wanted to find out too. Why so, but this area it's about the size of an auditorium, So these kids get school.

00:03:33
Speaker 2: Auditorium and it's about like thirty feet tall.

00:03:36
Speaker 4: This place is epic and it is very productive and a perfect spot for this very unique species from our Asia.

00:03:42
Speaker 5: Hobb.

00:03:43
Speaker 2: We want to talk about, right, Miranda, what's the species?

00:03:45
Speaker 5: So the species that live in here, this is we're here to talk about the milky starks. So milky starks are you know you think of a stork, it's that three foot tall.

00:03:53
Speaker 6: Whitebird, long yellow beak. But they also are really unique.

00:03:56
Speaker 5: They have this bright red face and bright red legs and are very very endangered. There's not a whole lot of places that you can see them or even hear about them.

00:04:05
Speaker 6: So that's what we're here for.

00:04:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, one hundred percent.

00:04:07
Speaker 4: I mean not only the species itself, but also like the habitsad right, mangroves are just critically endangered ecosystems around the world and here in the United States too as well. Absolutely, and it speaks to this wonderful aviary because, for instance, this bird can be found in areas like Cambodia Si Matra's an example, Bhutan also, So.

00:04:25
Speaker 2: These waterways that we have in this aviary is so essential.

00:04:27
Speaker 4: I mean, Frent, you even have these automatic sprinklers that come into mimic rain. And we're laughing right everywhere because while we were recording, the sprinklers came on and they hit us.

00:04:38
Speaker 2: So we're a little soaked.

00:04:39
Speaker 4: We got our wag goos next to us, right, But it's for a reason, right, can you speak to.

00:04:43
Speaker 6: Yeah, So they're breeding.

00:04:44
Speaker 5: Hormones get triggered by rain and by these abundant waterways, so they have all this live fish that they can go in and hunt, and different crawdads and different sort of native wildlife here that can help mimic what a mangrove would actually be out in you know, Southeast Asia. Obviously we don't have the exact place for them to be, but this is the best opportunity that they have in this habitat.

00:05:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's a unique situation, right.

00:05:11
Speaker 4: I know a lot of us are probably familiar with it, but for those who are not, can you explain to our listeners why do we have milky storks here at the Safari Park?

00:05:19
Speaker 2: What's so unique about this situation that we're in.

00:05:22
Speaker 5: So about four years ago, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums kind of put out these feelers like, hey, there's only twenty three of these birds left in this entire country, all of North America, only twenty three. Yeah, and they're aging, so you know, like humans, there comes a point where they can't lay eggs anywhere and have baby. So it was kind of like a hey, this is an emergency. We need to get these birds all together. Who's got the best place for it? And I mean, look at where we're at, we have the best place for it.

00:05:52
Speaker 2: Honestly, I was waiting for you to say they put their eggs in one basket. I mean I was kind of waited for.

00:05:58
Speaker 4: I mean, it really speaks to are oh, Randa, does this speak to the uniqueness and the I'm gonna get props again to the bird team for how good we are.

00:06:08
Speaker 2: I'm including myself in this narrative of them.

00:06:10
Speaker 4: Thank you, how good we are what we do right, because you were successful here in the past with this species.

00:06:15
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think in the last decade or two we were the only zoo in America that's ever successfully bred them. So that kind of speaks to us. And that was another you know egg in our basket that was like, hey, bring them all here. I mean you look at our condor program, right, we're kind of mimicking what we do there here and it's a slow start, but that's how it started with them too.

00:06:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, no, Kenny, And it is a collaboration to them, mad right, kudos also to our bird team down at the San Diego Zoo or Avian Propagation Center.

00:06:45
Speaker 5: Right.

00:06:45
Speaker 4: Can you speak a little bit of that relationship, like the process of what happens raising say a chick into adulthood here.

00:06:51
Speaker 5: Yeah, So we'll notice behaviorally if birds have eggs. Okay, so you know the pairs are different. Some pairs will sit right away, some pairs kind of will stand up and just kind of stare at you, and you're like, yeah, you're being suspicious. So we have this real fancy technology of putting a camera on a stick to raise it above the nest to non invasively check to see if there's eggs, and then, depending on the pairing, because you know, we're all about genetics, we want to mix up the population. We'll either let them sit the eggs for the full incubation period, or we take the eggs into our artificial incubation and that way we can collect all the data and the weight losses and all that kind of stuff and get a good look into the egg to see how well it's developing. And then once it's ready to hatch, and it has hatched, we'll send it down to the Avian Propagation center where they will hand raise that chick to ensure that it gets the best chance it has.

00:07:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, no kidding, And just so our listeners are where I mean, when you think about that chick, it's not like a chicken. It's not going to be out of an egg or like a duck lane and just be on its feet and ready to go. It's partially blind at some point, you know, there's not a lot of feathers on it.

00:07:54
Speaker 2: It can't really move.

00:07:55
Speaker 4: So our partners at the APC are really committing that time to help the chicks at that particular stage in their development, right, and then they come back over here to the safari park, to this beautiful spot that we're at right.

00:08:06
Speaker 5: Yeah, So the most recent one that we sent down there just came back. He was about fifty days old when he came back, so he's still very little and very young. I mean, they don't fully turn milky stark colors until they're almost adults.

00:08:18
Speaker 6: He was still very dark because they hatch black and gray.

00:08:22
Speaker 5: So what we do is we put them in a smaller pin and we'll bring out a bird from here and we give them a mentor, like they'll teach you how to be a milky stork. Because some of these birds were hand raised and then some of them were parent raised. So we'll give them one or two and then that bird teaches him like, hey, you can fly, you can get up.

00:08:39
Speaker 6: Here, this is how you eat, this is where you get food.

00:08:41
Speaker 5: And then once he's big enough to survive out into this big pen because it's large, then we'll bring both of them back.

00:08:48
Speaker 3: One thing I want to mention real quick because you'd mentioned Avian propagation center. Marcos said APC, which is abbreviation for Avian Propagation center. But those are words that maybe your general public won't know what that means. So avian is obviously bird propagation usually means to make more in the center as a location. So tell us a little bit about what does the Avian Propagation Center do? Or is markle put at the APC? What is the function there? Obviously you'd mentioned the chick will hatch and then they take it. Yes, so in a snapshot, what is the Avian Propagation Center?

00:09:16
Speaker 6: They are basically mama bird.

00:09:18
Speaker 1: Oh that's great.

00:09:20
Speaker 5: They're feeding, they're keeping it worn, they're taking care of it, and they're also collecting data on how these storks grow, like how much does it want to eat at this point, what time, how many times does it need to be fed in a day, How fast is it growing?

00:09:34
Speaker 6: Is it growing too fast?

00:09:35
Speaker 5: Because you know long legged birds, you grow too fast and you have issues, so you need to make changes and adjustments there too. So yeah, they're they're mama bird.

00:09:43
Speaker 3: And it's worth noting that the data that is collected you had mentioned also when they're in the incubator, even as far as the weight loss and moisture loss and the development within the egg that we can do through candling. All this data is not only important then for us to share with other facilities that are going to be working with these species and these birds are similar stork species for how but also then as we start to be able to do more work in the wild with them, we will have a better understanding is where certain birds are at their stage development by being able to look at them or where they should be versus maybe where they aren't. So all important information for us to gather this database on the species, which the think could be applied elsewhere in the world.

00:10:19
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I mean in North America, we're the only ones that are doing it, so it's hard to ask others z us for help for this specific species. So yeah, we look at other types of storks like painted storks and yellow build storks that are closely related, or even going to the zoo and Malaysia and looking at their data and their articles and their success.

00:10:40
Speaker 3: So with that, with us really being the ones doing this and collecting this data and building this information bank, Why is it so important that we work so hard and diligently for the milky storks?

00:10:53
Speaker 1: Why are they so important in the world.

00:10:56
Speaker 5: They're an important part of the ecosystem down there. You think about it, you run out of milky storks, then other things that they eat can run rampant and you know, destroy the environment. Even more so, if you take them out, you've got humans and the fish and the craw duds and everything that they would help control.

00:11:15
Speaker 6: It's just going bananas, you know.

00:11:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, especially that ecosystem.

00:11:18
Speaker 4: When you say, I mean mangroves are so crucial for a lot of coastal areas, yeah, I mean I'm going to Central America lite, and they're the thing is similar issue abilities right with the mangroves. I mean, the milky storks are prime example protecting that wonderful ecosystem.

00:11:30
Speaker 2: You help out so much other wildlife in the area.

00:11:32
Speaker 3: And to expand a little bit on what a mangrove is too, for anyone listening who doesn't know, these are this habitat that is sort of these shallow waters of rivers and creeks and whatnot going in towards the ocean. And it's not only an important habitat that needs to be protected because when there are giant storms, that mangrove acts as a buffer for land, which is by.

00:11:49
Speaker 1: The way, where humans live and other species.

00:11:52
Speaker 3: But then also it helps with food sources, it helps with clean water. There's so much importance around this sliver of habitat that goes with between land and water that this species lives in. And that's what I love about so much of the work we do is when we are looking to go, okay, how can we save this species or work to prevent them from going extincts such as the milky stork. That means also making sure we are very very aware of what's going on the habitat they need to survive. And so I think that's a great tie in to all of this when we look at any species like the milky stork or even you know, as we talk in the near future about giant pandas all of that because of their bamboo for us and everything else. So there's a tie into all of it that's bigger than just making sure the species is safe.

00:12:32
Speaker 1: And that's what I love about this conversation and learning.

00:12:35
Speaker 3: More about like you said, here you are we are in this giant aviary. These are where eggs are laid, they're paired up. We've got a whole incubation area, we've got the whole even propagation center the mama bird, as you said, and then the bigger picture is how this impacts the rest of the world.

00:12:49
Speaker 6: Yeah. Absolutely.

00:12:50
Speaker 3: And speaking of the milky stork living in the mangroveth, can you tell us a little bit about like what they eat and how they hunt?

00:12:55
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:12:56
Speaker 5: Absolutely, So milky storks are fish eaters. They'll eat a lot of here. We have bluegill. We all give them gambouga in the ponds, and then we supplement them with trout and smell and that kind of thing. So they do have the opportunity to get in the pond and actually fish, and they'll do that by standing in the shallow water and they do a couple of different things. So they'll put their face in the water, be just barely open, and they swing it side to side and it kind of disturbs the fish, and then they'll close it or clack it really quick to get some fish. But I've also seen them walk and then they take one foot and they kind of just like tap it around. Interesting and it disturbs the mud and then it gets all the fish and the frogs and the crawdads and then they can quickly grab something to interesting.

00:13:34
Speaker 1: That's pretty good technique.

00:13:35
Speaker 6: Yeah, good little fishers.

00:13:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's funny.

00:13:39
Speaker 4: As you guys are talking the same thing, I'm noticing what juv milky stark right now, and Ran, I'm so jealous of where you're at right now because this area, oh you and I know from experience, but the mornings here are incredible, right, I mean, the white of this area.

00:13:52
Speaker 2: It's so magical, the things that we can do here.

00:13:54
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean you walk in in the morning and it's you hear the native finches and sparrows that live in here. You hear the frogs, and then you hear the milky storks like clocking back and forth to each other because that's how they talk. They make this like wheezy noise and then they clack their bills and you're like, well, you guys are doing something.

00:14:09
Speaker 6: This is great.

00:14:10
Speaker 5: And then you hear the swan geas come up and run and wait for their morning breakfast, and I mean it's amazing.

00:14:17
Speaker 6: It's leaves me speechless every week.

00:14:20
Speaker 1: Not a bad place to work right, I can't.

00:14:22
Speaker 4: Complain at all, and great example for future projects and conservation too. I mean, I'm sure when we're saying the numbers, like when we brought in twenty three milky storks here in the United States, I'm sure people were thinking about the twenty two condors that brought in back in the day, right in nineteen eighty two. And it just shows that, you know, collaboration can work, right, that we can get together, we can make a positive impact in all sorts of species, including the milky stork.

00:14:44
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's funny how history kind of repeats itself, Like twenty two condors, we had twenty three milky storks. We've had eleven chicks hatch in the four years that they've been here, and yes, we're still at twenty three. But I think keeping that twenty three says a lot to how hard we worked for this. You know, the population came in the birds were getting old, like I said, and as we've hatched chicks, their chicks, the next generations are now raising their own chicks and laying their own eggs.

00:15:12
Speaker 6: So you know, we can only go up from here.

00:15:14
Speaker 3: And that's so important to recognize too, is that when we sometimes just see or hear the numbers, it's.

00:15:18
Speaker 1: Like, oh, there's still only twenty three.

00:15:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, it doesn't seem like success, But the reality is we have learned so much, and like you had mentioned, the first generation is now raising the next generation. And yeah, so there's so much value in seeing that. Yes, maybe the numbers are static, but there's so much more that's been developed, a foundation, if you will, for this project, and that's what's so exciting. We had talked a little bit about the importance of this particular species in their environment, how they help keep things balance in the ecosystem, and what that ecosystem is. But I'd like to hear from you why this species is important to you.

00:15:50
Speaker 5: You know, I'm new to this species, so I just I mean, I was here when we brought them over. I was here when we put the whole population together. So I think that's kind of why it's important to me, because I was here when it started, and I get to I am the next generation helping raise the next generation, you know, I'm I mean, yeah, I don't know.

00:16:09
Speaker 4: I can tell your lost of words because like you're part of the beginning of something. Yeah, incredible, right, I mean, all of us coming into the zoo, you know, we've all heard the stories of the Condor Project right in the eighties, and man, I was so wanted to be there during that time, be part of that at the beginning of that process. But friend, you get to be part of that process right now, and that's really great. And those are the experiences right that we can offer for our team Mempers and you kids that are listening right now, maybe one day you can be part of a really amazing program help out a unique species.

00:16:35
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean I grew up listening to the Condor Project, like I grew up coming to the park as a third grader or fourth grader and seeing what the Condor team was doing. And now I get to be a part of something similar. That's crazy. Like, I mean, I'm in my dream job already. How much better can I get?

00:16:53
Speaker 3: And I just want to say too that earlier when you were trying to put words to the feelings you were having and you kind of stalled out, I want our audience to know that you were glowing though these smile huge and you were just glowing like as your brain was thinking, Wow, this is what I'm really doing. So it's really important because one thing we cover a lot on this podcast is how passionate the people are who do this work. And you obviously have to be because it's a dirty, outdoor job that there's.

00:17:17
Speaker 1: A lot of things that some people look at that go no, thank you.

00:17:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, but all that stuff that could be thought of is not so good just goes to the wayside for those of us that are passionate about wildlife. And I love seeing that in our staff, and I love hearing it from you and your voice and seeing you just going to get a lots of words because you're glowing.

00:17:32
Speaker 2: It was so cool.

00:17:33
Speaker 5: I mean, my brain was working so fast, Like I don't know how to put all that in the Yeah.

00:17:36
Speaker 6: I mean it's crazy. Yeah, you say it's a dirty job.

00:17:39
Speaker 5: They eat fish, Like when it gets a hundred degrees out here, that fish does not smell great, you know, but it's fine, right, Like that's one small thing and the whole scheme of things that I don't have to worry about.

00:17:52
Speaker 3: So then you mentioned the fish in the hot weather, which it's a thing, trust me.

00:17:56
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, what would be one of your favorite parts of your day? Or you're weak out here.

00:18:02
Speaker 6: In here specifically.

00:18:03
Speaker 5: Sure, you know, there's one bird in here, one milky stork bird that's like the oldest bird that we have, and she's been here since the beginning, still kicking.

00:18:11
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:18:11
Speaker 5: I love in the mornings and the afternoons when I go, they love mealworms. So I go toss the mealworms and she's the first one that runs over and is like running like do you.

00:18:19
Speaker 6: Have your bugs for me now? And I'm like, yes I do, girlfriend, Yes I do.

00:18:23
Speaker 5: Here they are and she's just, you know, the oldest bird and she's telling all these youngsters like no, I'm going to eat these first. So that's pretty cool to see all their different personalities and how they interact. Yeah, so like they don't really have a hierarchy, but there also is kind of a hierarchy, like she's top dog in certain situations.

00:18:40
Speaker 6: Others are top dog in certain situations.

00:18:43
Speaker 1: You brought up a good point too, that it's not just a job.

00:18:45
Speaker 3: We become extended family with these animals, you know, and they are not pets, they aren't not domesticated. There's a different working relation than you would have with a pet at home. But yet you do get to know them. You get to know those personalities and the nuances of each individual.

00:18:58
Speaker 1: And that's something really special that we get.

00:19:00
Speaker 3: To experience, I think with these amazing animals in general.

00:19:04
Speaker 1: But here with a milky stork. I mean, what a privilege, right, Pretty cool?

00:19:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, And we're all connected with like you connected that milky stork, and our guests too, you know, they visit the Safari Park. Right now we're talking to you, guys, and I can hear hornbills off in the distance for realizing and just to describe to you the beauty and diversity of the wildlife at the Safari Park. So I really really recommend all you guys, when your cruising around the Safari Park of the Zoo, please take a minute and spend some time in our avi areas and enjoy all the feathered friends out there. And know that here at the Safari Park, at our Bird Conservation Center, there's a wonderful program with milky storks, hornbills. There's a castory project happening in the way as well. But that's a great place, And kudos all the work that you're doing.

00:19:40
Speaker 2: Give me some bird knuckles. But thank you so much, right, of course, thank you so much for your time.

00:19:45
Speaker 1: I really appreciate it.

00:19:46
Speaker 6: It was great.

00:19:46
Speaker 5: Thanks for coming in and seeing this. Not many people get to see it, so it's good to get it out there. And not a lot of people know that it's happening too, so that's another good thing.

00:19:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, I appreciate your time sharing that with Yeah, absolutely, Marco, thank you for getting us behind the scenes there with Miranda. That aviary is unreal and those storks are truly amazing.

00:20:06
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I mean it really is a special place.

00:20:08
Speaker 4: And you know, as much as I wish everyone can go back there and see it, we really do need to make sure these birds have their little oasis right away from most people so.

00:20:17
Speaker 2: We can focus on increasing the population.

00:20:19
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:20:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, that makes sense and what a great program to be a part of. And like Miranda said, the numbers of the Safari Parker Stable, the foundation for the program is really said. I cannot wait to see where things go in just a few more years.

00:20:31
Speaker 2: I know it's a mean rick, I mean it's looking really really good.

00:20:34
Speaker 3: Well, with that said, seeing as you were good enough to get us behind the scenes with the water loving milky storks, I think it's only fair that for our next episode, I see if I can get us up close and personal with a different kind of water loving wildlife.

00:20:47
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, friend, what are you thinking about?

00:20:49
Speaker 3: I'm thinking everyone needs to subscribe and tune into our next episode, in which we learn more about a semi aquatic road with partially webbed feet. Oh and they're so big. They are larger than some people pet dogs.

00:21:03
Speaker 2: Now, Marco Lent and I'm Rich Schwartz.

00:21:05
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.

00:21:09
Speaker 3: For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio. Our supervising producers are Nikia Swinton and Dylan Fagan, and our sound designers are Sierra Spreen and Matt Russell. For more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.