Khao Kheow Open Zoo Debuts Baby Greater Adjutant, New Star After 40-Year Extinction in Thai Nature
Khao Kheow Open Zoo successfully hatched a baby Greater Adjutant stork through artificial incubation, marking the first such breeding success in Thailand and offering hope for a species extinct from Thai nature for over 40 years.
Khao Kheow Open Zoo has introduced a baby Greater Adjutant chick as the facility's newest star, sparking widespread viral interest on social media. The Greater Adjutant, one of the largest storks in the region and world, had been extinct from Thailand's natural environment for over 40 years. The chick was hatched in an incubator after staff conducted a "life-saving operation," removing the egg from the parents—the only breeding pair of Greater Adjutants remaining at the zoo—to ensure successful incubation.
Zoo officials emphasized the remarkable nature of this achievement, noting that the parent birds typically lay only one or two eggs annually with inconsistent hatching success, prompting staff to intervene with artificial incubation. This marks the first successful Greater Adjutant breeding via incubator in the history of Thailand's zoo organization. The egg weighed 124-125 grams—nearly three times heavier than a chicken egg—and took 34-35 days to hatch.
When fully grown, the Greater Adjutant will stand approximately 145-150 centimeters tall with a wingspan nearly 3 meters wide. The species typically has a lifespan of 35-40 years and features predominantly black, gray, and white plumage. The announcement has generated massive online engagement, with netizens flooding the comments section with jokes, name suggestions like "Khun Chang" (Big Brother), and playful observations about the chick's appearance.
