Zazu, a rare Von der Decken hornbill, arrived the Cupar zoo as part of an endangered species breeding programme before Brexit and a broken beak thwarted his quest for love.
11:48, 23 Apr 2025Updated 11:53, 23 Apr 2025
Zazu broke both his upper and then lower beak in separate accidents in 2023(Image: Fife Zoo)
A lovesick Hornbill has finally found a mate at Fife Zoo after his quest to find “the one” was thwarted by Brexit.
Zazu, a rare Von der Decken hornbill, arrived at the Cupar zoo as part of an endangered species breeding programme in early 2022.
The tropical bird shared his brand-new enclosure with other bird species including Hamerkop, Turacos and Whistling Ducks.
He settled in quickly – however due to Brexit making the transportation of birds across Europe more challenging, as well Bird Flu outbreaks, Zazu’s love-life was put on hold.
His search for a partner was thwarted yet again just months later when he broke both his upper and then lower beak in separate accidents.
Zazu has finally found love(Image: Fife Zoo)
This made him unable to feed himself, relying on round the clock care from zoo keepers to feed him and keep him hydrated.
Keepers working round the clock to save Zazu had to hand feed the bird his specialist diet of fruit and small insects including cockroaches.
However, after spending six months receiving specialist treatment his beak thankfully repaired itself – and staff at the zoo have now delighted visitors by revealing he has finally found a compatible mate.
In a post on Facebook, Fife Zoo bosses revealed: “Zazu update! You may remember Zazu, the Von Der Decken’s hornbill, who broke his bill a couple of years ago?
“Well, now he has a new wife! After waiting for a while for a compatible mate, she has arrived.
“The happy couple have moved into our separation aviary on their honeymoon to get to know each other better.
“Don’t worry, they’re both still at the zoo, and they’ll move back into our African Aviary very soon…”
The happy couple have moved into Fife Zoo’s separation aviary(Image: Fife Zoo)
The Record previously told how the zoo hoped a suitable mate could be found so they could contribute to global captive breeding efforts to safeguard the species from extinction in the wild.
Von der Decken Hornbills are usually found in dry regions of Eastern Africa. Males like Zazu are easily identifiable by their large red bills, whilst females have black bills.
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Female Von der Decken hornbills bury themselves underground to hatch and rear their chicks with the male hornbill feeding the mother and chicks through a slit in the underground mud nest.
Visitors will soon be able to see Zazu and his new wife at the zoo’s African themed walk-through aviary, which allows visitors to get close to a visually stunning array of birds.