James' and Andean Flamingos in captivity?
- Thread starter OkapiFan
- Start date
That animals so beautiful, rare, possible to breed in zoos and popular among the public are about to go extinct in human care is really sad.
There are now 2 institutions: Berlin zoo, which keeps and sometimes breeds them in a tiny old aviary, and Slimbridge which does not breed them and keeps as a sort of trophy that it has all the flamingo species of the world.
Andean flamingo: Berlin has 7,5 (male, female in 2020) and irregular breeding, including 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018. Slimbridge has about 20 unsexed birds which did not breed since 1999.
James flamingo: Berlin zoo has 1 male and 5 females which bred until 2014, Slimbridge has 1 male.
I am not aware of any private holders.
To save the species in human care, all Andeans at Slimbridge should be sexed; flamingos from Berlin and Slimbridge should be combined in a large, modern aviary with equal number of males and females, and possibly next to a group of Chilean flamingos to provide a colony environment for safety. Saving the species in zoos is still possible, given how long-lived are flamingos. Sadly, it does not look there is much interest in it.
Besides, these flamingos in the wild suffer from mass breeding failures due to the unpredictable climate of Andean lakes, which flood, freeze or dry. Theoretically, tens of chicks doomed to die could be rescued and brought to human care with no loss to the wild population.
There are now 2 institutions: Berlin zoo, which keeps and sometimes breeds them in a tiny old aviary, and Slimbridge which does not breed them and keeps as a sort of trophy that it has all the flamingo species of the world.
Andean flamingo: Berlin has 7,5 (male, female in 2020) and irregular breeding, including 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018. Slimbridge has about 20 unsexed birds which did not breed since 1999.
James flamingo: Berlin zoo has 1 male and 5 females which bred until 2014, Slimbridge has 1 male.
I am not aware of any private holders.
To save the species in human care, all Andeans at Slimbridge should be sexed; flamingos from Berlin and Slimbridge should be combined in a large, modern aviary with equal number of males and females, and possibly next to a group of Chilean flamingos to provide a colony environment for safety. Saving the species in zoos is still possible, given how long-lived are flamingos. Sadly, it does not look there is much interest in it.
Besides, these flamingos in the wild suffer from mass breeding failures due to the unpredictable climate of Andean lakes, which flood, freeze or dry. Theoretically, tens of chicks doomed to die could be rescued and brought to human care with no loss to the wild population.
Just a note, this would have been very easy to answer via a quick search. Many photos and lots of discussion on the site.
Well their is a case to bring more Andean Flamingos because they are the only Flamingo species at vulnerable but James near threatened like other flamingo species in captivity. I think only moving one species into captivity (Andean) would help facilities concentrate on that species for better input.