Longleat Safari Park Celebrate Successful Flamingo Breeding Season

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: September 2, 2020 12:30 am

A flamingo chick which recently hatched

Photo Credit: Longleat Safari Park

The flamboyance of Chilean flamingoes at Longleat Safari Park in the United Kingdom have experienced a baby boom with fourteen chicks hatching. The breeding season isn’t over yet and keepers expect more hatchlings in the coming weeks.

Keeper Lauren Hooper-Bow said: “We are extremely pleased with the high hatching success rate among the flamingos this year.”

A flamingo chick which recently hatched

Photo Credit: Longleat Safari Park

“With the number of eggs still to hatch, it could be our best year to date and it’s particularly welcome as in 2019 heavy snow showers prevented the flamingos from sitting on any of their eggs.”

“This year’s success is likely to be down to a combination of factors including good weather during the egg hatching period, having a large colony and the fact so many of the eggs were fertile,” she added.

A flamingo chick which recently hatched

Photo Credit: Longleat Safari Park

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Flamingoes raise their egg in a cone shaped nest. Chicks are born with white plumage and a straight bill which will begin to droop as they grow.

In the wild these chicks would live for 15-20 years but in the safety of human care this could extend out as far as 70 years.

A flamingo chick which recently hatched

Photo Credit: Longleat Safari Park

They feed on crustaceans and plants. The crustaceans help to give them their color.

Learn more about flamingoes here – Flamingo Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about Longleat Safari Park on their website – Longleat Safari Park