Two Shoebill will be moved to a non-public facility (Updated 10/23: The planned move date has been changed).

Updated on Friday, October 23, 2026

Based on the current preparation status, we have decided to postpone the relocation date. We will relocate as soon as preparations are complete. As the safety of the animals is our top priority, we may not be able to provide advance notice. Once the relocation is complete, we will announce it on Ueno Zoo official X page (https://x.com/UenoZooGardens).

Ueno Zoo West Garden currently has four Shoebill on display.

We will be moving two of our four Shoebill storks to a non-public facility within the park for breeding purposes. Following this move, the two storks will be on display.

Shoebill naturally live alone and establish territories. At Ueno Zoo, in order to breed Shoebill, we have decided to move two individuals to a non-public facility to recreate a living environment and distance between individuals that is closer to their natural habitat. In the future, we will monitor the condition of the two females that will remain on display and consider pairing (cohabiting) them with the male that will be temporarily removed from public view.

Shoebill are difficult to breed in captivity, and there have been no successful breeding attempts in Japan to date. We will continue to work on improving breeding methods that take into account Shoebill 's natural ecology, and strive to breed such rare animals.

Shoebill (Hatúwe)

Shoebill (Millie)