Shoebills are creatures with a strange appearance and incredible strength.
Shoe-billed storks live mainly in African swamps, have a strange appearance with many features similar to prehistoric creatures, and are said to resemble dinosaurs.
This creature has an average height of about 1.4 m. It has a large, thick and 17-20cm long beak that looks quite similar to a traditional clog in the Netherlands. In particular, this beak has a very strong bite force that helps the shoe-billed stork hunt effectively. Photo: Just Birding.Shoe-billed storks originate from a group of carnivorous dinosaurs called “Theropoda” – the same group of T-Rex dinosaurs but descended from much smaller dinosaurs. Over a long period of time, their mouths full of sharp teeth have evolved into large beaks. Photo: Alamy.
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Although they are called storks, shoe-billed storks tend to be more like pelicans – especially in their ferocious hunting methods. Photo: Just Birding.The shoe-billed stork's large beak is an effective hunting weapon, even helping the shoe-billed stork kill crocodiles, but only baby crocodiles. Crocodile skin is very thick but is just a tough piece of quiche to the shoebill stork. Just use a little bit of force to tear it. The shoe-billed stork's main food is frogs, reptiles and lungfish. Photo: Reddit.The shoebill stork's beak has many other uses such as attracting mates, repelling predators, and is also a tool to scoop up water to help the stork quench its thirst under the harsh African sun. Photo: Audobonva.Shoe-billed storks are very patient, they often stand motionless for long periods of time stalking their prey. When the prey is careless, it will collapse like a statue and use its beak to pierce the prey. Before swallowing, they often use their beak to chop their prey into small pieces with 2-3 stabs. Photo: IVM.Shoe-billed storks are solitary animals, partners only come together to mate, build nesting areas and incubate eggs. The female lays 1 to 3 eggs and hatches after about 30 days of incubation. Photo: Ebird.Although it is a fearsome predator in the natural world, the total number does not exceed 20,000 in the wild and in zoo captivity. Therefore, the shoe-billed stork is listed as a vulnerable species in the Red Book.
