News and Events
Releasing White storks into the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park
Date: 22.07.2011.
On Monday, 25th of July, Zagreb Zoo will release nine offsprings of White stork into the wild, in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park.
Zagreb Zoo therefore continues the tradition of releasing offsprings of White stork into the wild. This is the sixth year in a row that storks hatched in Zagreb Zoo are released in Lonjsko Polje. So far, 15 White storks offsprings from Zagreb found their new home there. This year at Zagreb Zoo, three pairs of storks had chicks. Those nine offsprings, marked with bands, are released not far from Čigoć village so their new life, away from their birth place, can be monitored by park rangers. Such strengthening of wild populations of endangered species is one of the most important roles of modern zoos.
The White stork is a protected bird species in Croatia. This nesting bird, whose Latin name is Ciconia ciconia, lives in Middle and Eastern Europe and before winter starts the migration to Africa. Young Zagreb storks will grow stronger in Lonjsko Polje for the following several months, where a third of the total population of white storks in Croatia lives, and when the weather gets colder they will leave with their new flock for warmer parts of the world.
