Female Hornbills Seeking Mr Right in South China Zoo

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 16, 2003

Female Hornbills Seeking Mr Right in South China Zoo

Zoologists and keepers at Nanning City Zoo, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are playing matchmakers for the zoo's increasing number of single female hornbills.

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Zoologists and keepers at Nanning City Zoo, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are playing matchmakers for the zoo's increasing number of single female hornbills.

About a third of the zoo's population of 110 hornbills are facing the single life as two thirds are female, say zoologists.

"That means two female hornbills have to compete for one partner," said Hu Fengxia, a female zoologist.

Hornbills, a species under state protection, have a reputation as lovebirds in China due to their exclusive loyalty to their mates.

The gender ratio had worsened in recent years as the birds raised in captivity were mostly female and the males were very choosy about their partners and breeding conditions, Hu said.

"It is difficult to get a male hornbill from the wild since the country has strict rules on raising and collecting wild animals," she said.

"We are considering looking for prospective partners for those single female birds in other zoos," she added.

The birds with ivory beaks are found only in Yunnan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China and have an average life expectancy of 30 to 40 years.

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