A father of two flamingos successfully raises chicks abandoned by their keepers in a communal nest.
Flamingo's fathers, Hudson and Blaze, put the eggs under their wings after being rejected by their biological parents at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
American flamingo eggs were first placed in incubators at Britain's largest zoo after their parents abandoned the nest.
But keepers at the Bedfordshire Zoo moved to what Hudson and Blaze shared, deeming them the best candidates among the entire flamingo herd, Flamboyance. .
They sat firmly on the eggs until they hatched, and since then they have given exemplary care to their newborn babies, keepers said.
Bird Team Leader Tim Savage said:
``Hudson and Blaze have always proven to be ideal parents, so they were the clear choice for incubation eggs. Afterwards, they kept the chicks warm and protected from other flamingos for two weeks, who would fight and push at different nesting sites.”
The chicks are now mammals. are fed with milk from crops that husband and wife produce using the same hormones that regulate human milk.
Stimulated by the experience of a mother or father sitting on an egg and watching a chick hatch.
Tim added:
"Made in the lining of the digestive tract and contains fat, protein and blood cells.
"We often find new parents in flocks. Because if you give them too much, they will turn almost white!”
Same-sex flamingo pairs have been encountered before in zoos, such as trios in which male and female birds share a single nest. there is.
Penguins are also known to form same-sex pairs during the breeding season.
