After four years without any hatchlings, expanding the flock has helped the birds breed again
Seven greater flamingo chicks have hatched at Lagos Zoo following an innovative approach to overcome a four-year breeding drought: increasing the size of the flock.
Earlier this year, the zoo introduced several greater flamingos from other zoological parks in an effort to create a larger, more stable colony. The strategy has proved successful, with the arrival of seven chicks marking what the zoo describes as an important milestone for its breeding programme.
According to the zoo, keepers believed the existing colony may have been too small for the birds to feel secure enough to breed. “After four years without our flamingos breeding, we started to wonder: ‘What if our flamingos simply have too much space?’ So, we brought in more flamingos from other zoos to create a larger flock… and it worked!”
With a larger group, the flamingos resumed their natural breeding behaviour, resulting in the successful hatching of seven healthy chicks.
Lagos Zoo is home to both greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor), with their habitat carefully managed to encourage natural behaviours such as nesting and breeding.
The successful hatchings are considered an important indicator of the birds’ welfare and the effectiveness of the zoo’s conservation and husbandry practices.
Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the newest arrivals may be surprised to find they are grey rather than pink. Flamingo chicks hatch covered in soft grey down, only developing their distinctive pink plumage as they mature.
The seven chicks are healthy and can already be seen exploring their habitat alongside the adult birds.
The breeding success follows another milestone for Lagos Zoo, which recently became the first zoological institution in Portugal to successfully breed a southern ground hornbill, one of Africa’s most threatened bird species.
Article originally published by Michael Bruxo for The Resident.
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