The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire had to think outside the box when a baby flamingo was abandoned by its parents. Carlos and Fernando, a same-sex couple in the bird sanctuary, were chosen to be the surrogate parents.
Having successfully raised three chicks by snatching eggs from other couples, it was time for Carlos and Fernando to have one of their own. For flamingoes, like humans, bonding with the baby is crucial. The parent birds need to hear the cheeping from inside the egg and witness the chick hatch.
The trust staff carefully placed the abandoned baby in a broken egg, secured it with tape, and placed it in Carlos and Fernando’s nest. The baby emerged as good as new soon after.
According to WWT spokeswoman Jane Waghorn, Carlos and Fernando have a history of stealing other flamingos’ eggs to raise as their own. They have proven to be skilled at sitting on eggs and hatching them. When a nest was abandoned recently, it seemed like a great idea to make them surrogate parents.
Waghorn added, “They have formed a strong bond with the chick and are excellent at being protective parents, finally to a baby of their own.”
Carlos and Fernando, together for six years, can feed their chick without any female assistance by producing milk in their throats. The baby’s gender will only be known in two years’ time.
The chick, along with 15 other newborns, is being raised in a “creche” and has been welcomed into the flock under the watchful eyes of its new parents.
Flamingos are usually monogamous during breeding periods but find different partners each year. Carlos and Fernando’s enduring love is particularly remarkable.
“They are devoted to each other,” said Nigel Jarrett, a keeper at Slimbridge.
“They will likely stay together for the rest of their lives.”
In addition to their heterosexual neighbors, Carlos and Fernando perform an elaborate courtship dance twice a year before settling down to build nests.
The mating ritual involves elaborate preening and strutting. The males, including Carlos and Fernando, energetically wave their heads from side to side with their necks fully extended.
Mr. Jarrett explained that both Carlos and Fernando take on the male roles during the courtship dance, but since they cannot produce their own eggs, they steal them from the colony of 800 flamingos.
