21 May 2007
WWT Slimbridge's famous gay flamingos Carlos and Fernando usually have to steal eggs in order to become parents. So they couldn't believe their luck last week when WWT staff chose the pair as surrogate parents to an abandoned chick that went on to hatch twice!
Desperate to have chicks of their own, unlikely couple Carlos and Fernando's egg stealing antics first hit the headlines last year. But their chick-rearing skills impressed staff at WWT Slimbridge so much that when one of the nests in the Greater Flamingo colony was abandoned last week, they hatched a plan to save the life of the baby flamingo and make Carlos and Fernando parents again.
The abandoned egg was whisked off to an incubator where it was warmed up and monitored. Hours later a chick hatched safe and well, but there was a problem.
Parents usually first bond with their chicks as they're hatching and calling from inside the egg. So to help Carlos and Fernando bond with their new chick, WWT staff took an old eggshell, carefully popped the newborn chick inside, taped it up and returned it to Carlos and Fernando's empty nest. The pair were soon seen 'talking' to the chick inside the egg and a little while later the chick hatched for a second time - but this time to be greeted by its' loving foster parents.
Now the chick has joined the 'creche' of some 15 Greater Flamingo chicks at WWT Slimbridge and has been accepted into the flock under the watchful gaze of 'mum' and dad, Carlos and Fernando.
This story comes just as news broke that a major colony of wild Greater Flamingos on Fangassier Island in the Camargue of southern France have failed to hatch eggs this year. Up to 20,000 flamingos usually breed here each year, so no chicks from this famous colony will further highlight the importance of protecting a dwindling number of breeding sites in the wild.
Despite there being almost five million flamingos in the world today, the total number of regular breeding sites is fewer than 30. WWT believes there is a real need for the production of conservation action plans for the six different species of flamingos so all the important breeding and feeding sites of the world can be identified and protected.
WWT maintains breeding populations at its centres and supplies reputable zoological collections with flamingos to reduce the demand for wild-caught birds, whilst continuing its work in the conservation of flamingos in the wild.