I got to know Stanley back when he was at Capron Park Zoo, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to see him in his new home. He had quite the personality back then, and it's clear he's still the personable bird I grew to love!
I got to know Stanley back when he was at Capron Park Zoo, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to see him in his new home. He had quite the personality back then, and it's clear he's still the personable bird I grew to love! One of my absolute favorite individual animals, for a while even had him as my profile picture. It's clear he's doing quite well in his new home, and I'm happy to see him doing alright in a large, walk-through aviary, as he really didn't fit well in Capron's aviary due to his over-friendliness towards people, a trend that I saw hasn't changed. He also has access, interestingly enough, to Cleveland's binturong habitat, and spent some time in there as well today.
People often talk about their favorite individual ABC animals, but it is really amazing and unique to hear about your connection with an animal as overlooked as a red-crested turaco! I didn’t realize that many turacos were even given names, or that they could have big personalities at all. It must have been very special to see Stanley again, gregarious as ever. I wonder if he was hand-reared, as that may explain his tendency to trust people so much.
@ZooElephantsMan yeah, I'm not aware if he was hand-reared or parent-reared. He was hatched at Franklin Park Zoo, and then moved to Capron when the renovated Rainforest re-opened. He wasn't in there for too long though since he would land on people's heads, come right up to people, etc. Not the bird you want in a free-flight aviary with visitors who may not act (or know how to act) appropriately in those situations. It was only a few months before he was moved into the Sadler Building (current bat exhibit), first with the now-deceased Indian Crested Porcupine, and then on his own, and then some time in late summer/fall 2020 he was sent to Cleveland. I was under the impression he was going to become an ambassador animal, but it looks like instead he was placed in another free-flight aviary, which is certainly an interesting choice, especially given his continued tendency to be overly people-friendly (which many visitors misinterpreted as "attacking" them). This bird made me fall in love with turacos, which are now some of my favorite animals, let alone favorite birds. Absolutely amazing bird and I was so happy to get the opportunity to see him again.
