Are Shoebills Dangerous? (All You Need To Know)

Shoebills are known for their rather intimidating appearance. With dinosaur-like features and a powerful beak, they may look extremely menacing, but do their behaviors match their terrifying appearance? Are Toe Toe Storks Dangerous to Humans?

Read on as we investigate whether this is a species that really shouldn’t be judged by looks alone.

Despite their menacing appearance, Shoebills are generally calm, docile birds that pose no threat to humans. However, their strong and broad beaks allow them to target some fairly large prey, including crocodiles, lizards and even eland.

The shoebill is a wading bird native to specific regions of Central Africa, including Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Sudan. Their powerful beaks are used to catch and kill prey – usually fish from the wetlands they inhabit – but they can also successfully hunt larger mammals, reptiles and waterfowl.

People are not threatened by shoe-toed storks, and there are no records of these “prehistoric throwback” waders attacking humans. In fact, the opposite is more likely.

Shoebills are a vulnerable species with few natural predators. Human hunting has contributed significantly to the decline, with only 5,000 to 10,000 birds remaining in the wild.

Read on to learn more about these elusive giant storks and their deadly hunting methods.

Despite their menacing appearance, Shoebills are usually calm birds

How do Shoebills protect themselves?

Shoebills are known for their “death stares,” in which they stare unblinkingly at other birds or animals that might encroach on their territory to scare them off. They are ambush predators that sneak up without warning, crushing and tearing apart their prey with their powerful beaks.

Although they are mostly silent, shoebills can sometimes be incredibly vocal, especially during mating season or when fending off predators.

They make loud noises with their beaks that sound like machine gun bursts, enough to scare away humans who might be engaging in illegal trapping or hunting.

Shoebill eating prey

When Do Shoebills Become Aggressive?

Shoebills are precise hunters that silently ambush their prey. While sometimes everything goes according to plan, with the shoebill’s massive beak catching a food source as it silently swoops into the water, sometimes the bigger animal may put up more of a fight.

In such conflicts with larger animals, the more aggressive nature of the Shoebill becomes apparent. For larger prey, such as crocodiles, turtles, rodents and even antelope, a more intense fight may be required, and the shoebill will flap its huge wings more frequently.

A pair of Shoebills together in the wild

Are Shoebills Friendly to Humans?

Rather than being “friendly” to humans, it might be more accurate to say that the Shoebill storks tolerate their presence on the rare occasions when they interact or come into contact with each other.

Humans have been able to observe toe-toed storks in their natural environment from as close as 2 meters (6 feet) away, with no threat to their own lives, and no obvious signs that the birds feel threatened or disturbed by the proximity.

Shoebill walking through wetlands

Are Shoebills Aggressive to Humans?

Despite being about the size of an adult, toe storks don’t usually respond to aggressive humans. Instead, the bird was more likely to calmly engage in an unblinking “stare contest,” staring at them with piercing eyes, rather than approaching them in any way.

Are Shoebills Aggressive To Other Birds?

When they encounter other birds of their kind at close quarters, confrontations are not uncommon. This attack on competing birds begins early, with siblings being targeted in the nest so only the strongest, most dominant chick of the brood survives.

Shoebills do not appear to be afraid of any other species, and will feed on waterfowl, especially juveniles, regardless of their size, speed or stature.

Shoebill in flight

Signs of an imminent attack by a shoebill

Shoebills are known as stealth hunters, able to balance on their slender legs for long periods of time in swampy waters without shaking.

Their success as precise predators lies in their ability to strike quickly before prey have a chance to detect their presence or anticipate their movements.

Silent birds most of the time, shoebills hunt using a tactic known as “crashing,” in which they suddenly lunge forward to catch their desired prey by surprise. They impale their prey with their beaks, and then use the blade-like edges of their beaks to slice off parts of their prey.

Shoebill, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

What would you do if a shoebill attacked you?

There are no records of shoebills attacking humans, so fortunately, it’s highly unlikely that such advice will be needed.

General advice when an attack by a bird of similar size occurs, including not moving suddenly, retreating as soon as possible (don’t turn your back on the advancing bird) and protecting your face and head from razor-sharp, cutting or aiming-sharp beaks or paws.

Do Shoebills Fight to the Death?

Shoebill young are known for taking sibling rivalry to the extreme. Stronger, larger cubs attack and target smaller, weaker cubs to their death while the parents watch and do not intervene.

This brutal example of “survival of the fittest” manifests as the dominant sibling removing the smaller birds from the nest where they are neglected and starving, or aggressively attacking them until they die from their injuries. Typically, only one Shoebill hatchling survives a clutch of up to three whale eggs.

Shoebills are fearless in the face of confrontation, and when the time comes to attack, they will go all out, whether it is another Shoebill, any other bird, or even a larger animal such as a crocodile, antelope, or monitor lizard.

They don’t always emerge from such encounters, but won’t give up and concede defeat without a huge, often deadly fight.

Shoebill in its natural environment, among long green grass

What are Shoebills afraid of?

With their ferocious looks and fearsome, powerful beaks, you won’t be surprised if there isn’t any data to say what these ruthless predators fear. Shoebills do seem to be fearless when it comes to prey, even larger animals such as crocodiles and antelopes.

common problem

Should you bow to the toe stork?

Behavior observed at a wildfowl center in Uganda describes what happens when someone bows to their resident cetacean sushi—and what happens when they don’t. When tourists bow to the sushi, the bow is returned, and tourists can even touch him. When visitors do not bow to him, the bird walks away and does not allow visitors to touch or approach him.

Can a Shoebill Kill a Crocodile?

Shoebills prey on crocodiles, especially juveniles. They have strong, sharp beaks and can decapitate any prey they catch. These dinosaur-like waders are sometimes called “death pelicans” – snakes as long as 1 meter (3.2 feet) are no problem for shoebills, and similarly sized crocodiles are their most common large one of the goals.

Have Shoebills Ever Killed People?

There are no records of shoebills killing or attacking humans. That’s not to say it won’t or can’t happen in exceptional circumstances. Therefore, as with all wildlife species, if you encounter them in the wild, it is recommended that you keep your distance and disturb their natural habitat as little as possible.