Habitat
The Shoebill Stork lives only in the wetlands and marshy areas of Africa, including the countries of Zambia, Rwanda, and Tanzania. This habitat is currently being threatened by humans that are using the land for farming. Also, because of drought and other factors in the Sudan, there have been many wildfires that have destroyed this bird's habitat (Muir and King 2012). Some organizations are trying to save the remaining Shoebill territories in the wild.
This bird is specialized for wading in the swamps of this habitat. It preys off of fish, snakes, and lizards. The climate range that the Shoebill strives in is from 60 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (Muir and King 2012). The map below shows the distribution of the Shoebill Stork population in Africa. The red color indicates its natural habitat.
Here is a cute organism that lives near this area: Meerkat
To find out more about how this bird behaves in its habitat with other organsims, go to our Interactions page!