Area of zoo
Tiger Territory
Enclosure status
Open
Population in the wild
250 adults
IUCN status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Geronticus eremita
Order
Pelecaniformes
Type
Birds
Family
Threskiornithidae
Region
Morroco, Spain, Turkey and Austria
Habitat
Shrubland and rocky areas

Waldrapp ibis facts

  • They breed on cliff edges, where they lay two to three eggs in a stick nest.
  • The species recently suffered a long-term decline and now only a wild population of a few hundred exist today.
  • Waldrapp ibis fossils found in southern France date back more than 10,000 years.

Our waldrapp ibis reintroduction 

What do Waldrapp ibis look like?

The waldrapp ibis is a large bird standing around 80cm tall, covered in black shiny feathers. Unlike other species of ibis bird, its face and head features no feathers and is pale red in colour, along with its downward curving bill and long legs.   

What do Waldrapp ibis eat?

They eat a variety of small animals, including lizards and insects.

Waldrapp ibis at London zoo

Waldrapp ibis habitat

This species can typically be found in rocky habitats where there is running water nearby.

Where are Waldrapp ibis from?

Morroco, Spain, Turkey and Austria.

Waldrapp ibis threats

Different colonies of waldrapp ibis face different threats. For example, in Morocco, the species threatened by illegal building work and disturbances close to the cliffs where they breed. Meanwhile, hunting is a major threat to the extremely small population of waldrapp ibis that remains in Syria.

Conservation around the Zoo and beyond

  • Female Lake Oku frog
    Xenopus longipes

    Lake Oku clawed frog

    Lake Oku frogs are only found in one tiny lake in Cameroon, and we were the first to ever successfully breed this critically endangered species.

  • Chinese giant salamander being held during a health check at London Zoo
    The world's largest amphibian

    Chinese giant salamander

    Chinese giant salamanders are the world's biggest amphibian, at full size they are around the size of a fully grown man at 1.8m in length.  

  • Asiatic lion Bhanu poses surrounded by autumn leaves

    Asiatic lion

    ZSL London Zoo is home to Asiatic lions, Bhanu and Arya

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