October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the color pink, along with the pink ribbon, are the most prominent symbols of breast cancer awareness. This post is in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we are profiling SeaWorld’s pinkest animal, the flamingo. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment would like our readers to learn more about early detection and how you can raise awareness of breast cancer. Please take the time and visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
SeaWorld Orlando recently welcomed a flamingo chick to its family. It was incubated in a brooder at 99.5 degrees while it was piping, the stage before hatching when the chick makes a hole in the egg. After hatching the chick will continue to stay in the brooder at a temperature of 98 degrees for at least the first week. The temperature is then dropped based on how the chick is progressing. The chick is then transitioned into the bird area.Prior to the hatch the flamingo responded to cooing by SeaWorld staff and cooed back with its eyes fully wide open.
Flamingos are uniquely designed birds. Their lengthy legs allow them to easily wade in muddy or sandy lakes and lagoons. The bend in the middle of the leg, which most would assume is the knee, is actually the ankle. Knees are much closer to the body. Flamingos frequently stand on one leg to keep the tucked foot warm and conserve body heat.
Flamingos are not born with their vivid pink coloration. Newly hatched chicks are covered with gray or white down feathers and acquire their pink adult plumage after about three years. The algae and various invertebrates that make up a flamingo’s diet are rich in the pigments that contribute to their coloration.
To learn more about the flamingo visit SeaWorld.org