The strange case of a same-sex Chilean flamingo couple raising a newborn baby together

At a zoo in the south-east of England, called Paignton Zoo lives a flock of Chilean white flamingos, very popular with the public who visit them daily. But among them, Arthur and Curtis stand out, two male flamingos who, overnight, decided to adopt a baby.

The strange thing is that Zoo staff have no idea how the flamingo pair acquired the egg.

“It is likely that the egg “It was left there, unprotected, as if it had been left in a nest and the flamingos had taken advantage of the opportunity.” explained Pete Smallbones, the zoo’s curator of birds, in a statement from the facility.

The expert explained that it is common for birds, such as flamingos and penguins, to form same-sex couples. But What surprised the zoo was that Arthur and Curtir, in addition to choosing each other as life partners, hatched an egg and raised it together.

This is the story of the pink flamingos.

During the breeding season, flamingo couples spend more time together and follow each other everywhere. But, as he explained cnn , Two flamingos are confirmed to be a pair when they choose a nest to share, whether or not they sit on an egg.

In this case, The two Chilean flamingos had an egg to sit on. So, they began their hatching journey and after a while, a fluffy white chick was born that they are now raising together.

This success story, for experts, shows that Flamingos are birds that have “an innate parental instinct and flexibility.”

But is there a scientific explanation that shows that animals of the same sex can pair up and raise a baby that is not their own?

Although there is no concrete answer, there are a few theories as to how this particular union came about.

As the same media explainsChilean flamingos “can be very picky when it comes to breeding.” So much so that expert observations have shown that this species of bird avoids reproducing even up to nine years.

To be able to do this, they need the right climatic and environmental conditions, explained Smallbones, the zoo’s curator of birds. He also said that the zoo provides these conditions for them to breed, and even then, they don’t always choose to do so.

However, The chick that male flamingos Curtis and Arthur adopted – and which still doesn’t have a name – is almost a month old and “seems to be thriving.” Smallbones said. “The parents are clearly doing a great job.” projection.

According to the keeperThe chick usually explores its environment with another chick of the same age. When the little flamingo is hungry, it returns to Curtis and Arthur’s bed to feed.

Although it may seem very strange, the case of these male flamingos who decided to raise a baby is not the first in the world: in other zoos, birds of the same sex have also been observed deciding to mate and then hatch eggs.

For example, in 2018, two male penguins at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia also became adoptive parents to a chick.

The biologist and animal behaviorist at the University University of Exeter, Paul Rose, he said cnn that “It is relatively common for captive flamingos to form same-sex pairs, due to the small size of the flocks.”

However, “hatching from an egg is more unusual. “It is likely that these two male flamingos were very interested in nesting, but they failed to attract a female, so the same desire to nest brought them together.”

In other words, the two male flamingos needed to “nest” and, unable to find a female to satisfy this instinct, they decided to do so anyway with an egg they found.

Actually, Rose said there had been cases where flamingos of the same sex had entered and disturbed other nests to steal eggs and raise them themselves.

A particular detail in the case of this English zoo is that the enclosure has 26 female flamingos and 25 male flamingos. “There are enough females for the males to mate,” but Arthur and Curtis decided to mate anyway and raise an egg that is not theirs.

“Although further research is needed to determine why same-sex bird mating occurs, “It is possible that Arthur and Curtis found an egg from an unattended male-female pair and took advantage of the opportunity to care for it, or that they took over the nest from another pair.”

A study by academic Paul Rose, published in 2020, found that Flamencos have very particular tastes “in terms of who they like to spend time with. “They will actively seek out certain birds in a flock and avoid others.”

“I’m not surprised that two male flamingos managed to raise a chick thanks to their social flexibility, but I don’t think it would have been their first choice for a breeding partner.”

Furthermore, the ornithologist of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Kevin McGowan he said cnn that Caring for an egg is a difficult task that “requires two dedicated parents, since incubation lasts up to 28 days.”

This behavior has also been observed in other species, such as some albatrosses (seabirds), where two females mate to raise an egg, or both lay eggs and decide to care for them together.

“You can’t do it yourself. So these birds figured out how to make it work. “It’s in your instinct to want to take care of an egg, no matter what the circumstances.” said the expert.

In the case of Arthur and Curtis, the male Chilean flamingos, “There is a great desire to have children and these two boys have discovered how to achieve it.”