26-03-2015 07:00

A zoo in California is taking care of a couple of new animals. The Dalmatian Pelicans were born at the zoo’s safari park, but their parents were unable to raise them. People will look after them in an avian centre until they’re old enough to return to the safari park.

The chicks need a special climate, so people keep them in a brooder. They can feed themselves, and people give them food five times a day.

A grown-up Dalmatian Pelican can measure up to 6 feet in length (1.8 metres) with a wing span between 9 and 11 feet (2.7 metres to 3.4 metres). The Dalmatian Pelican is one of the largest flying birds.

Difficult words: raise (to take care of a baby or a child), avian (relating to birds), brooder (a heated house for chicks).

You can read the original story and watch the video in the Level 3 section.