Abilene Zoo at forefront of preserving endangered secretary birds

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Pam and Jagger are the resident secretary birds at the Abilene Zoo, and Zoo Animal Care Supervisor Philip Nigro considers them an important pair. The population of this species has been declining in recent years, and the Abilene Zoo is the only institution accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that has a breeding pair.

This month, they welcomed their fourth chick, which is the first secretary bird chick to be successfully bred in the United States this year.

“We just love to see things like this, to help an animal that not very many people probably know needs a lot of help because it’s very endangered,” said Nigro.

Secretary birds are native to Africa, where they can most commonly be found hunting in tall grass. Their preferred diet helps to control pest populations such as insects, rodents, and snakes.

Pam and Jagger hatched their first two chicks just three years ago, and those chicks were transferred to the Phoenix Zoo. Their third was born in 2024 and currently resides at the Abilene Zoo, where it was raised as a species ambassador.

“So he actually is more trained to go into classrooms or with children or more big groups of people and they can see them up close,” Nigro said.

The gallery above contains photos of the new baby and parents, Pam and Jagger. COURTESY: Abilene Zoo

This most recent chick is still too young to tell what its sex is and has not yet been named. Nigro says the baby chick was born about the size of a tennis ball and is now about the size of an American football at just under a month old. Once it has fully matured, Nigro says the chick will likely be transferred to another zoo. The repeated success of Abilene’s secretary birds in breeding, Nigro says, is a positive trend for the species as a whole.

“This is a very big victory for the species. It’s a big victory for Zoos, and at Abilene, we’re here just trying to find out how we can better preserve these great birds,” said Nigro.

There will soon be even more opportunities for the public to see the happy family, as the Abilene Zoo will begin holding earlier hours on Monday, June 2nd, for “Roaring Mornings,” during which the zoo will be in operation from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.