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Meet the REAL Stork!
by Biol. Oscar S. Aranda Mena |
 If you still believe that the stork is in charge of delivering human babies, this article is not for you. If, by contrast, you want to know what is behind these folk stories, and find the truth about storks around the world and meet the wood stork; a great bird that occasionally visits our city and goes unnoticed by most. The Stork Storks are large birds, waders with a long neck. Its beak is particularly long and at first glance might be mistaken as some strange big heron. The herons, ibis, and storks, have a certain kinship with each other; sharing some of ecosystems and aquatic habits. There are 19 species of cranes in the world, of which only two are in Mexico: the jabiru, a fairly rare species found only in southeast Mexico, and the wood stork (Mycteria americana), which is found widely throughout the Americas. Due to its large size and white color, this stork is sometimes confused in flight with the white pelican, from which has emerged the name, "forest pelican", one of the many common names given to the wood stork. At nearly 4 feet tall and over 5 foot wingspan, this bare-headed bird is impressive, especially knowing that weighs just over 4 pounds. It is a migratory bird that moves frequently and travels long distances to seek better feeding and breeding sites, preferring areas with abundant water, where they can hunt their favorite prey (fish), but with that size and enormous beak it has no trouble eating reptiles and even small mammals. Due to the loss of their habitat is increasingly difficult to observe storks in Banderas Bay of. However, for many years several storks have been chosen one of the lakes within the Marina Vallarta golf course as a resting place, and other sites near the airport. The stork is an excellent glider, so you can see it gliding in circles getting a free ride rising up on air currents, and in large groups, which turns out to be quite a show. If you have ever seen this, consider yourself lucky, because it is one of many species are under pressure caused by urban development and destruction of their precious ecosystems.  Storks and People The relationship of storks with people is purely symbolic, as they are associated with babies and the family unit dating back to Egyptian and Greek cultures. While talk of babies come from remote places brought by the stork is a bit cheesy, it is not so much when we consider how these stories have evolved from the observation of their habits and the imagination of man. We owe everything to the cultural heritage left to us by our European settlers, where the storks that migrated from Africa to Europe have, for centuries, been associated with happiness and family welfare (because birds are naturally monogamous, faithful and careful in caring for their offspring). Unlike American storks, European storks have a habit of nesting on the rooftops and chimneys of houses and buildings, so having a stork nesting at your home was considered a "good omen". This behavior gave rise to the rest of the stories, fables, proverbs, across borders and eras. It seems that much of the credit goes to the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, who made use of folklore in his famous children's stories. It is interesting to understand how an animal species can be benefited from the simple "love" that human society you may choose to bestow on it. This is true of many "cute" or "charismatic" species like the dolphins (for example), while those 'ugly' species face the constant rejection and persecution of humans. I wish ours were a fairy-tale world where our culture included each and every creatures of this planet worth their affection and respect. While this world exists, we must recognize that if only we knew a little more about all creatures and their vital roles in our ecology, we would find them easier to understand and therefore respect. |
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