Rescued flamingo chicks thrive at bird gardens
FOURWAYS – A small group of baby flamingos are in stable condition at the Montecasino Bird Gardens after their birth and rescue due to life-threatening water shortages in the Kamfersdam in Kimberley.
Following the life-threatening water shortages in the Kamfersdam in Kimberley, which led to over 1 500 chicks and unhatched eggs being abandoned, an incredible collaboration between the National Zoological Gardens, National Veterinary Association, BirdLife South Africa, the Kimberly SPCA and various accredited members of Pan African Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Paaza), including Montecasino Bird Gardens, World of Birds, SANCCOB, Ushaka Marine World, Lory Park Animal and Owl Sanctuary and Vulpro, resulted in the rescue of the baby birds.
Friends of Free Wildlife (FFW), a rehabilitation centre based in Kyalami, also called on the local community to make donations in terms of feeding tubes, heating lamps, syringes, nappies, baby cereal, and volunteers.
“As a result of adverse climatic conditions … where a colony of lesser flamingos breed annually has started to dry up,” a Facebook post from FFW read.
“As a result, hundreds of young chicks are in dire need of rescue. [On 25 January] a total of 900 chicks were collected, housed by the SPCA in Kimberley and this morning put on a flight to Wonderboom Airport. These chicks will arrive at their final destination at around 2pm [26 January]. In addition to the above 900 chicks, over the next couple of weeks, we expect to receive an additional (possible) 2 000 to 3 000 chicks.”
On 30 January, a small group of baby flamingos found themselves at the Montecasino Bird Gardens just one day after their birth and rescue, and are now thriving. Once they were airlifted to Montecasino Bird Gardens, the chicks were immediately taken into the care of vets who fought to stabilise them, while the bird gardens staff set about preparing the schedule and logistical undertaking of caring for the chicks.
“This operation is the largest of its kind,” said Shaun Wilkinson, general manager at Montecasino Bird Gardens.
“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 fledgelings separate from our colonies to avoid the risk of spreading disease. The lesser flamingo has seldom been reared in captivity.”
Initially requiring round-the-clock feeding and care, the chicks are now stable and on a four-hour feeding cycle.
“For the first week they had to be fed every hour,” said Elaine Reeve, curator of birds,who, along with Michelle (assistant curator of birds), Dr Jessica Briner (veterinarian), and Theo Nel (curator of reptiles), have dedicated their time to the rearing of the fledgelings.
Operating on only a few hours’ sleep a night, the team, along with volunteers, have been feeding the babies a mixture of fish, shrimp, egg and baby cereal. The mixture is sieved to remove any chunks, liquidised and then carefully syringed down the baby’s beaks at a 35-degree angle.
Wilkinson. explained, “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.”
Director of operations and complex GM of Montecasino Mike Page added, “As part of our responsibility as an accredited member of the zoological community we are in the privileged position to be able to collaborate with fellow organisations and fund the feeding and rearing of the baby flamingos. It has been heart-warming to be joined in spirit and donations by many members of the public.”
The babies are housed in temporary enclosures based on their weight, with infrared lights providing the perfect temperature for them to thrive, with an array of teddy bears and feather dusters to provide them with comfort. The cacophony of squawks that heralds an imminent feeding time is reassuring evidence of their growing strength.
“The fledgelings will be weaned between 30 and 40 days after birth, and once they start filter feeding we will put them onto flamingo food.
We are all working towards reuniting the colony and releasing them back into the wild, hopefully in May,” concluded Mandla Mngomezulu, property manager of Montecasino.
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