Same-sex flamingo pair successfully hatches an egg together at a UK zoo

Seven fluffy white flamingo chicks are on display at a zoo in southwest England for the first time since 2018. Two male flamingos successfully hatched an egg together, a first for the zoo. The zoo has had several all-male pairings during past breeding seasons. The zoo is unsure how the couple acquired the egg. The successful hatching highlights the parental instincts and flexibility of the social birds. It also underscores the need for conversation about the declining Chilean flamingo population in their native home of South America. Several other zoos have observed same-sex pairings among bird species. In the wild, flamingos can avoid breeding for up to nine years.