Heat wave in England drives flamingos to lay eggs for first time in 15 years
LONDON: A British conservation charity says record-breaking temperatures have encouraged a rare flock of Andean flamingos to lay eggs for the first time since 2003.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust says six of the exotic birds laid nine eggs, all of which were infertile. The charity’s reserve in Gloucestershire in southwest England then gave the Andean flamingos eggs from near-relatives, Chilean flamingos, to look after.
Mark Roberts, the aviculture manager at the Slimbridge reserve, says “with the Andeans in full parenting mode, we gave them Chilean chicks to bring up as their own. It’s great motivation and enriching for the birds.”
A rare flock of Andean flamingos foster chicks from their close relatives, after the heatwave led them to become broody and lay eggs for the first time in 15 years pic.twitter.com/ML0VAy1FOO
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) August 9, 2018
The Andeans are some of the oldest animals at the trust’s Slimbridge reserve. Some arrived in the 1960s as adults. The birds are long-lived and can breed into old age.
