I need to check my 19th century London Zoo stuff, but it's at least possible that these are the only Black-necked Cranes ever to set foot in the UK; which makes them rarer as a UK resident than those black & white bear things that everyone makes such a fuss about.
Blackbrook really have missed an advertising gimmick on trhe lines of 'see stuff nobody else in the UK has got' [the only serious Ibis collection, for a start].
it is fox proof its 2inch weldmesh with 2 strands of electric wire on the outside aswell as a dogleg that is a few feet under the ground, and then it is netted over
Beautifull birds but I guess in the 19th centuary some collections in the UK must have kept this species. I myself took care for one of the first pairs kept in mainland Europe at Walsrode Birdpark. Due to their breeding-successes the species is now a little more widespread and even some privat collections do keep and breed them now !
Before the current breeding population was established, the only one I have ever heard of in the western world was the bird Delacour had between the wars. London Zoo, Woburn & Lilford all had Whooping cranes, but I'm not aware of anyone having Black-necked.
FBBird was right. I did some research and indeed the first Black-necked crane brought to the western world was a specimen brougth back by Delacour in 1924 to his park at Cleres in France.
