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Captive Breeding

Captive Breeding>Cracid &Crane Breeding and Conservation Center

In the Cracid & Crane Breeding and Conservation Center (CBCC) in Belgium, a large number of cracids and other birds of the neotropical forest are kept, together with almost all species of cranes, birds of wetlands and savannah.

Besides the coordination and funding of other conservation projects of Crax International, the center is responsible for the training of biologists, birdkeepers and other persons working in the projects in the country of origin of the birds.

Above this, an important task of the CBCC is to develop artificial reproduction techniques and extend their applications in order to guarantee the genetic diversity in small populations of endangered birds like the Siberian Crane and the White-winged Guan, species which almost disappeared from their natural habitat. Several people from the Oka Crane Breeding Center (OCBC), Russia, already had the opportunity to visit CBCC and to learn more about their management, husbandry and breeding of cranes.

Besides the yearly structural support for already many years and recently the funding of the reconstruction of breeding facilities at the OCBC, the Cracid & Crane Breeding and Conservation Center is supporting (practical and financial) Crane Conservation Projects all over the world.

2004

At CBCC 10 chicks were born from 7 different Siberian Crane males and females. Chicks are still unsexed and 1 chick died after 4 months. No other breeding in Western Europe during 2004.

2003

During 2003 only two institutions in Belgium have bred Siberian Cranes.
In Cambron, Parc Paradisio, only one chick hatched but it died after three weeks.
25 eggs were laid at the Cracid (& Crane) Breeding Conservation Center (CBCC). All fertile eggs were laid after artificial insemination. Finally 17 chicks (from four different males and five females) hatched of which one died after three months. All chicks were reared by hand and were placed in groups after the aggression period.

Three males and one female, born in 2002 at Parc Paradisio, Cambron, were transferred to CBCC in Zutendaal; and one male, born 2001 at CBCC was sent to Tama Zoo in Tokyo.
Two young birds, born in 2002 at CBCC died in 2003.

By Robertus Belterman

Rotterdam Zoo
Cracid & Crane Breeding and Conservation Center