We’re deeply saddened to share that our 31-year-old female wrinkled hornbill, Morticia, was compassionately euthanized following a severe decline in her health. Morticia called our Zoo home for 20 years and was cared for by generations of zookeepers.  

At 31 years old, Morticia was the oldest wrinkled hornbill within a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The median lifespan of this species is 10.6 years for females.   

For the past few months, Morticia was being monitored for significant heart disease and treated with medication as well as special care from her animal care team.  

Recently, Morticia was found very weak in her habitat and was immediately brought to our L3 Harris Animal Care Center, where she was minimally responsive to further treatment. Due to the grave prognosis and her worsening symptoms, the compassionate decision was made to euthanize Morticia. A necropsy found multiple significant abnormalities, including issues with the heart, liver and kidneys.  

We said goodbye to Gomez, Morticia’s lifelong partner, in October 2023. The duo had over five offspring with us – and they even have grand-chicks at fellow AZA-accredited organizations. Wrinkled hornbills are considered endangered in their native range, making having a safeguard population of this species so important.  

Morticia left a deep impression on her animal care team. Lands of Change Senior Keeper Alyssa saw Morticia and Gomez open up to her in the 4.5 years she worked with them.  

“Towards the end, she would see me and fly straight to her training platform,” Alyssa said. “It took a year to train her voluntary scale behavior, but being a part of that milestone is one of my favorite accomplishments in my zookeeping career.”  

This strong foundation helped make certain animal care check-ins more comfortable for Morticia – and led the hornbill to seek out more head pets during the colder winter months. 

“I would sometimes just sit on the ground of her habitat and just watch her,” Alyssa said. “She is a permanent part of my heart, and the Zoo won’t be the same without her.” 

Lands of Change keeper Spring will miss hearing Morticia’s vocalizations ahead of mealtime. During Daylight savings time, she would hop over to the door and wait with her beak through the mesh.  

“I’ll miss sitting on the ground with her and having a grape filled picnic,” Spring said. “She was incredibly smart and well loved.” 

It was always a dream of Lands of Change keeper Erin to work with wrinkled hornbills.   

“Morticia and Gomez were a dream come true for me when I first joined the LOC team,” Erin said. “Morticia was a wonderful bird.”  

Erin loved Morticia’s calls for her morning grapes when she saw Erin approaching. Morticia would even sometimes hop onto Erin’s boot for more snacks. Erin will never forget learning how to scale train with Morticia.  

“She was perfect and will be missed,” Erin said.