Interactions
- While inhabiting marshy areas, the Balaeniceps rex is found to be both a secondary and tertiary consumer preying on fish ranging in size from that of Large Mouth Bass to the small Pacific Herring, and other aquatic organisms such as frogs similar to the Red Eyed Tree Frog (Shoebill Stork 2005).
- The large bill found in the Balaeniceps rex proves advantageous when penetrating marshy quarters to obtain its aquatic organism filled diet (Shoebill Stork 2005).
- The small populations of the Shoebill Stork have not been found to provide other organisms with food. The only exception is the individuals whose eggs have been preyed upon.
- Common predators for this bird are both humans, some larger snakes like the Reticulated Python, and in some cases cattle similar to the Domestic Cow when grazing near nests the cattle tend to step on, and mistakenly eat the eggs. (Guillet 1978; John et al. 2013).
- It is currently unknown why some fisherman prey on the eggs of the Shoebill stork, while numerous conservation efforts have been created to protect these delicate creatures.
For a fantastic video of the shoebill eating a lungfish, click on the following link. However, we do not recommend watching this if you have a weak stomach!
http://www.arkive.org/shoebill/balaeniceps-rex/video-08.html
To find out how this organism reproduces follow this link to our Reproduction page!