RELOCATED FLAMINGOS ARE THRIVING
Rescue operation largest of its kind
THE more than 1 500 baby flamingos and unhatched eggs that were rescued after being abandoned due to the life-threatening drought in the Kamfers Dam in Kimberly are doing well.
The chicks are currently being supervised and are becoming more stable as they are on a four-hour feeding cycle.
Mandla Mngomezulu, property manager of Montecasino, said they are all working on reuniting the colony of chicks and releasing them back into the wild, hopefully in May.
Small groups of baby flamingos were made up and sent to various organisations such as the Montecasino Bird Gardens, Pan-African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Pazaa), and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza).
The small group of chicks that were airlifted to Montecasino Bird Gardens were immediately taken into the care of vets who fought to stabilise them.
The babies are being housed in temporary enclosures based on their weight, with infra-red lights providing the perfect temperature for them to thrive, with an array of teddy bears and feather dusters to provide them with comfort.
The team and volunteers has experienced minimal sleep as they have been feeding the babies in a continuous cycle.
“Each baby has been microchipped and is scanned at every feed to ensure each one is fed the correct amount. There is a degree of skill required to feed them as they can easily aspirate if fed too quickly,” said Shaun Wilkinson, General Manager at Montecasino Bird Gardens.
“This operation is the largest of its kind. We have a colony of Greater and Caribbean Flamingos at Montecasino and have had good success in rearing babies. We were therefore able to share our feeding formula with the other organisations who adopted the rescued babies from Kimberly. For reasons of bio-security, we have had to keep the fledglings separate from our colonies to avoid the risk of spreading disease. The Lesser Flamingo has seldom been reared in captivity,” said Wilkinson.
“For the first week, they had to be fed every hour,” says Elaine Reeve (Curator of Birds) who, along with Michelle (assistant Curator of Birds), Dr Jessica Briner (veterinarian) and Theo Nel (Curator of Reptiles), have all dedicated their time to the rearing of the fledglings. |