An adorable bald baby cockatoo has been raised by staff at a sanctuary after its mother and father nearly squashed it in its egg.
Herbert the palm cockatoo was saved from certain death by staff at Paradise Park in Hayle, Cornwall, who were force to step in and take him under their wing.
It came after his mother Tess and father Ziggy had begun squabbling and looked likely to crush the unhatched egg, as they had done several times before.
Herbert the palm cockatoo, pictured shortly after being born, was saved from certain death
The adorable bald baby cockatoo has been raised by staff at a sanctuary in Hayle, Cornwall
Park keepers Leanne Gilbert and Sarah-Jayne Cooke took the youngster under their wing
Keeper Leanne Gilbert said: ‘Herbert’s parents have produced an egg several times in the past two years but always broken them before they got a chance to hatch.
‘This time we saw that the pair were having some squabbles and likely to crush the shell so we stepped in and took the egg to an incubator.’
The tiny chick hatched successfully, and Ms Gilbert and her fellow keeper Sarah-Jayne Cooke have now been hand-rearing Herbert for nearly three months.
Ms Gilbert said: ‘Soon Herbert will move over to solid food but at present, he is fed what is called ‘Witches Brew’.
‘A blended mix of carrot, apple, broccoli, macadamia nuts, smooth peanut butter and macaw formula.
The keepers have been hand-rearing Herbert the cockatoo, who is now about three months old
Keeper Leanne Gilbert poses with Herbert (left), whose father Ziggy (right) is also pictured
Herbert checks out the badge of Paradise Park keeper Ms Gilbert, who has been helping him
‘Palm cockatoos are the largest member of the cockatoo family so Herbert still has quite a bit of growing to do. He is already showing interest in chewing carrot sticks.’
Palm cockatoos are slow to reproduce, because just one egg is laid at a time and the chick is in the nest for at least 80 days, then stays with its parents for about a year.
Although rarely seen in aviaries, in the wild they have a large range and are thought to be quite common in remote areas of New Guinea, but rare around settlements.
The unusual patch of bare skin on their cheeks blushes bright red when they call to a mate or defend their territory, which makes them very expressive.