Successful breeding of pink flamingos
Tierpark Chemnitz: White-grey chicks can be seen - more to follow
The pink flamingos at Chemnitz Zoo are currently having offspring again. The first chick hatched at the beginning of June. Five more chicks followed, the last for the time being at the end of June. Some of the eggs are still being incubated, so it is possible that more chicks will hatch. This is the third successful offspring for the zoo after 2022 and 2023.
Even though flamingos are one of the most popular and relatively frequently kept bird species in zoological institutions, they were long considered impossible to breed. Although they have been kept for well over 100 years, the first isolated breeding successes with the various species only occurred in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Through intensive research, it was discovered that flamingos need a certain group size to get into the mating mood. In addition, the ratio of males to females should be relatively balanced. Some flamingo species are also known to react strongly to changes in their environment. All of these factors also apply to animals living in the wild, which means that reproduction is not only difficult in zoological institutions.
For a long time, breeding was also unsuccessful at Chemnitz Zoo. They have been kept here since the mid-1990s. In 2015, the group of pink flamingos was enlarged to such an extent that the first mating activities could be observed. But it was only after the animals were helped by the zookeepers to build their cone nests that they literally burst the knot. The offspring now breed so well that the young are hatched naturally and raised by the parents themselves.
Visitors can experience the interesting rearing process, in which both parents are involved, and watch the young animals grow up. The pink flamingos at Chemnitz Zoo are resistant to any disturbance caused by their proximity to the visitor path.
The young can be recognised not only by their smaller size, but also by the colour of their plumage. In contrast to the adult animals, this is not pink, but white-greyish in colour. This is because the pink colouring of the plumage is due to the absorption of carotenoids with the food. After transformation in the organism, these are deposited as pigments in the skin and feathers of adult animals. Pink flamingos are not fully coloured until they are more than 3 years old. This means that some of the juveniles from the previous year can still be recognised by their colouring.
Opening hours in summer:
Zoo: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm
Game enclosure: 9 am to 6 pm, last admission 5 pm