In 2009, George Archibald, co-founder of The International Crane Foundation, approached Michael Mace, Wild Animal Park curator of birds, about assisting Bhutan’s Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) to work on the avian conservation recovery program for the critically endangered white-bellied heron. In the spring of 2011, Safari Park keepers Don Sterner and Debbie Marlow traveled to Bhutan to provide technical assistance and set up incubation, brooder, and flight pen facilities. Two of four eggs were pulled from a nest in the hills across the river from the field station, a difficult, dangerous procedure requiring the skills of a professional tree climber. After two hours, the group had the eggs in hand and headed back to camp. Candling the eggs revealed that one was not viable, and the other was about a week from hatching. Then on May 7, Don, Debbie, and the team witnessed the hatching of the very first white-bellied heron in captivity. The chick thrived, though there were challenges. The power was not reliable, and the keepers had to have around-the-clock shifts to monitor outages and switch to generator power when needed. Getting fresh fish for the chick was also a challenge. RSPN staff had to go out day and night to catch enough fish to provide for the rapidly growing chick. Don and Debbie transferred care of the heron to the Bhutanese on June 15, when the chick was 40 days old. Once it had fledged, the bird was fitted with a leg band and satellite transmitter. On September 17, the heron was released, and subsequent reports showed that it continued to do well.