Otto started developing feathers at nine days old
green throat feathers with a yellow collar and crown at around three years, while a girl will stay a comparatively drab maroonish-brown. Either way Otto will not reach sexual maturity until the seven-year mark. Francis knows that without his daily sacrifice, Otto’s future would not have been certain. “If someone is not on site it becomes 50- 50 whether the chick survives. Keepers have other tasks they must do, they don’t look after one individual, they have other animals. And the baby needed feeding at night.” Francis’ sacrifice was shared by his family, with his wife and two young sons, aged just two years and eight “Its first ‘pin’ feathers on the wings appeared at nine days, then full feathers at three weeks”
months, having to give up time with their dad while he took care of Otto right through the Christmas and festive season. “After work I’d go home and I’d be reading books with them and playing with them, and then the alarm would go off, and I’d say, ‘I need to go and feed another baby’. And I’d have to leave them and run. As much as possible during this critical period I prioritised the welfare of Otto. The boys are
Daddy’s boys so they didn’t like me handing them back to their mother, but it’s okay. My family are used to my schedule.” As Francis reflects on the past months of devoting himself to keeping one bird of paradise alive, it is not lost on him that in most other parts of the country there is pride and glory attached to how many of the birds can be killed. “There can be 27 birds (killed) just to make
be known until it is three or four years old. If Otto is in fact a boy he will start to develop his full plumage and distinctive emerald
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